The Ravings of a Mad Puppet
by Midnight Phantasma
Summary: Damaged and beaten, Allen had been only a crack away from shattering. Painstakingly, Mana patched and rearranged the broken doll that the little boy was, until he became something unrecognizable; but maybe that was all for naught. Now in the hands of the Noah, Allen's mind steadily deteriorates as he is corrupted and unwillingly turned against his own kind.
1. Inverted Wrongs

**A/N: **It probably will not yet be as dramatic as the summary makes it seem, but it will have a good combination of light-hearted and serious moments. A few might recognize this first chapter; I did publish this once before, but it ended up getting deleted, and since I wasn't sure whether I was continuing it or not, I never bothered publishing it again, but have now decided to do so. The plot is simple, and it won't be extensively long, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless!(:

The point of view will constantly switch between Road and Allen, just to note.

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**Disclaimer****: **I do not own **D. Gray-Man**.

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Chapter 1

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**Time Frame — Night of August 22****nd****, 1889**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Road~**

Road pouted in disappointment as the dirty boy paid her no mind, and continued to hold himself closely. For the one who was supposed to be Neah's next host, she hadn't expected him to be so _boring_. Road sighed softly as she unwrapped a piece of candy and popped it into her mouth. The boy was trembling to the point that she actually wondered if he wasn't just cold. At first, she'd assumed he was frightened as all sub-humans tended to be, but they _were _down in the dungeons, and it wasn't exactly cozy down here. Millenie hadn't decided what he was to do with the traitor for now, so he wasn't up to being very accommodating. With a snap of her fingers, an Akuma servant appeared beside her, standing on the other side of the iron bars.

"What can I do for Ms. Kamelot?" the servant droned.

"Blanket," Road simply demanded, not bothering to spare the Akuma a glance. In less than a minute, the Akuma returned with a soft, thick blanket, which Road immediately snatched through the gaps in the cell door. "Leave us."

Once they were alone, Road wrapped the blanket about the auburn-haired boy with surprising gentleness. She couldn't have the weak human dying because of some sickness, after all. The boy, Allen, stilled in slight shock, and then instantly snuggled into the warmth with a small sniffle. Road wondered what to do next. Millenie wasn't do to arrive for another couple hours, and this Allen boy wasn't exactly the epitome of fun. Unfortunately, she'd been ordered to keep him under her watch—as Millenie trusted her most—so she couldn't very well leave him to go play with her dolls.

Heaving a bored sigh, the young Noah plopped down in front of Allen, and simply stared at him. She momentarily wondered if Neah had yet to awaken, but then shook away the thought. The boy seemed too young. Even she had been slightly older when her Noah first awoke.

"Why are you staring at me?" Road was surprised to hear the clear, but slightly childish voice of Allen. He had finally ceased crying, and was curiously gazing back at her with slightly terrified, wide, moonlit eyes. Road had to give him credit for the lack of shakiness in his voice, despite the tear tracks and sniffles.

"I'm _bored_!" Road whined to the seven-year-old, as she flopped onto her back carelessly.

Allen slightly jumped at her sudden outburst, and timidly asked, "Erm, why?"

"_Because_!" Road pouted. "Millenie says I have to watch you, so that means I can't play with my dolls!"

"Oh," Allen muttered, not exactly sure how to placate the strange girl. She _was_ his kidnapper after all.

Sitting back up, Road gave Allen another contemplative stare, causing said boy to squirm under her intense gaze. Not that Road cared, as she continued to observe him. Suddenly, she spoke up again to the jittery boy, "So, what do _you_ like to do for fun?"

"_Fun_?" Allen wrinkled his nose as if the concept were foreign to him. Receiving Road's expectant stare, Allen pulled the blanket tighter against himself, attempting to soak up the warmth. After a moment of careful thinking, the boy replied, "I like spending time with my _dad_." Allen felt giddy. It was the first time he'd ever referred to Mana as his father. He'd done it to keep his capturers from knowing who Mana was, but the feeling of the action didn't lessen.

Road blinked, and then giggled. "That's so _weird_! Spending time with your _dad_!"

Allen furrowed his eyebrows, feeling indignant. There was nothing wrong with that! But then, he wondered what she thought of her own father. "Don't you like spending time with _your_ dad?"

"Um, well, I _guess_. But it's not really fun. It's more… _amusing_," Road giggled again, thinking of her obsessive father. As for Allen, he was just perplexed. How did someone find one's parents "amusing"? Then again, she might've meant that he was really funny…? But for some reason, Allen doubted it.

"Um, right," Allen muttered not knowing what else to say, and awkwardly shifted on the cement, fiddling with the seamed edges of the blanket. It surprised Road that he hadn't yet started demanding her to take him home. She'd assumed the boy would be loud and obnoxious. What else could you expect from a seven-year-old kid?

As for Allen, he was clueless as to what they could possibly want with him. He wanted to go back to Mana so badly, but a small churning in his gut told him that if he somehow escaped, Mana would also pay the price. Allen jumped slightly, surprised to suddenly hear Road's voice again.

"Hmm, so what _were_ you doing before I snatched you from that crowd?" Road asked, for the lack of anything else to say. She wrinkled her nose, remembering the foul stench of human sweat mixed with dirt. It was a wonder she'd managed to find Allen, considering he'd been smack dab in the middle of it all. Being on the field didn't turn out to be as much fun when you couldn't even terrorize a few humans, but she couldn't very well deny the missions Millenie assigned her. Maybe whine a little, but not deny.

"Oh, uh, I was just helping out the clown that was performing," Allen muttered awkwardly, not sure how to explain that. Thankfully, he wasn't dressed in his clown garb—they'd run out of clown make-up, so he would've looked silly without it; and not in a good way, mind you. It could have directly connected him to Mana, who'd used the last of the make-up to dress himself up. Because of this, Allen had worn his regular, dirty attire and had held unto Mana's top hat as the townspeople threw money into it, while occasionally doing tricks and flips himself, earning them a bit of additional money. Allen deflated slightly at the thought. He'd dropped the hat when Road had roughly grabbed on to him. Allen _really _hoped that nobody had stolen the money.

"Huh?" Road tilted her head. "Why would you do that?"

Still fiddling with the blanket, Allen explained, "He promised to get me a treat if I did." This wasn't a complete lie. Mana _had _promised to buy him a small treat if they managed to earn a little extra.

Road snickered. "Why couldn't you just ask your _dad _for one?"

"We're low on money right now," Allen muttered again.

"Hey, do you want to play dress up with me?!" Road unexpectedly squealed, completely turning the subject around.

"Huh?" Before Allen could say anymore, Road had already hopped up and unlocked the dead bolt with a loud click. Pushing the heavy, barred door with a deafening creak, Road grabbed a hold of Allen and hurriedly dragged him out. Allen yelped slightly as he stumbled after her, accidentally slipping out of his warm blanket.

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Road hummed happily to herself, as she continued to throw articles of clothing about the room, seemingly unsatisfied with everything she found. Allen wasn't sure what to make of it. Though he did have to admit that she made the funniest expressions while occupied. Allen leaned back against the velvet sofa and relaxed, deciding to be comfortable for the time being. He certainly doubted he'd be receiving such treatment for the duration of his stay.

"Aha!" Road suddenly exclaimed with a satisfied grin, causing the red-head to jolt out of his thoughts in surprise. Up until then, he'd completely zoned out from the young Noah's occasional babbling, and had been ready to fall asleep from exhaustion. Allen was pretty sure it was _way_ past the bedtime Mana had attempted to get him to follow.

Allen blinked rapidly, noticing Road's snapping fingers in front of his face, and tried to shake away his drowsiness. "Um, yes?"

"I have found the perfect outfit for you!" Road grinned widely, holding up a stack of clothes to Allen's face.

"That's great?" Allen asked more than answered, unsure of what else to say. This really wasn't his area of expertise…

"Duh! Of course it is~! So go on and try it out!" Road demanded, shoving the chosen clothing into Allen's arms with an expectant smirk.

Allen stared dumbly at the clothing, feeling too worn out to follow the crazy girl's orders. It had been such a _long_ day, and being kidnapped by a girl not much older than him, as well as being constantly pestered by her, had left him physically and mentally exhausted. Allen rubbed at his drooping eyes, trying to hold back his tears; all he wanted to do was go back to Mana. What if the older clown had finally left after not finding him? He could have traveled anywhere by now! Allen's bottom lip quivered.

Road, oblivious to Allen's thoughts, poked the boy, asking, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"I-I'm too tired," Allen mumbled, slouching further down the couch. He really _was _all alone now. Despite the fact that his kidnappers—the girl's earlier rants had pointed to the fact that there were others who'd been involved—weren't all bad up until now, Allen was sure their treatment of him would worsen. He wasn't sure what they wanted from him, but if they were to discover his arm, they would be sure to kill him in disgust of his deformity, once they'd used him. Setting the clothes aside, Allen curled into himself.

Childishly, Road crossed her arms and pouted. "Aww, but that's boring! I want to play, Allen!"

Allen managed to open his drooping eyes, startled, and warily asked, "How do you know my name?"

"Huh? Oh, one of the sub-humans called out after you, so I assumed that was your name. Anyway! C'mon, Allen! Play with me!" Road pleaded, tugging at him so he'd get up, causing the already weak boy to stumble off the couch. Surprised at his feeble strength, Road's firm pull caused Allen to crash into her, sending them both sprawling into the array of clothing piled along the carpeted floor.

"My~! What is going on here~?" a voice, unfamiliar to Allen, suddenly spoke up. Road instantly jumped up and ran over to the large, round figure, immediately tackling the man with a hug.

"Millenie! You're finally back! I was _so_ bored! Allen is no fun at all! All he does is mope around!" Road whined to the large man, more specifically known as the Millenium Earl.

The Maker's already huge grin, somehow managed to widen as he chuckled, and said, "Is that so~?"

"Yes!" Road declared, as Allen wearily sat up with wide eyes. So this was the figure behind his actual kidnapping? He was certainly a lot scarier than Allen had expected. Despite the man's continuous grin, his glinting, gold eyes that were difficult to focus on with the light reflecting off of his glasses, made Allen shudder. The red-headed boy gulped, as the man neared him, eyes narrowing dangerously in spite of his large grin. Unexpectedly, the Millenium Earl seized his left arm.

"What is this~?" he hissed. The fact that he continued to speak in his melodic voice terrified Allen all the more. The Millenium Earl roughly yanked away the glove and shoved the sleeve of his loose, white shirt up his arm, revealing the scaly, red arm with a green cross imbedded atop his hand.

"Innocence?! How did I not…? It's been so long…" Road muttered to herself with a fierce scowl. How had she not noticed before?! It should have been instinctive for her to notice that sort of disgusting weapon! But it'd been so long since she'd dealt with the repulsive junk. After the Earl had ordered her lie low and keep away from it all, Road had learned to ignore it, but she'd never thought it possible to grow this immune to it! With a scowl, Road decided that she would soon need to remedy this.

"I-I'm sorry! P-please don't hurt me!" Allen cried and trembled, terrible memories from his childhood resurfacing as both figures continued to glower in disgust at his arm.

Deciding to take the initiative, Road crouched down beside Allen, and gently took his scaly hand in her own two, trying her best to ignore the sweltering agony that it caused her. Knowing that whatever damage it produced would soon be healed, Road softly spoke, "Allen? Do you know what that crystal imbedded in your hand is?"

Allen silently shook his head in response, trembling, as fat tears involuntarily spilled down his flushed cheeks.

"It's called Innocence. The Crystal of God. But that is a _lie_. Innocence is evil. Innocence destroys what _we_ are trying to accomplish. Innocence is _very_ bad thing, Allen," Road carefully whispered her explanation, slowly corrupting the would-be-Exorcist's mind.

"I-it is?" Allen sniffled, as he stared into Road's large, persuasive eyes. It was hard not to get lost in their entrancing, golden depths.

"Yes, Allen. And now it has gotten attached to you, like a disgusting _parasite_," Road continued in her tilting voice.

Silver eyes widened, as the young boy whispered, "Are you going to kill me?"

Road slowly backed away, causing Allen to realize how close they'd been. With a small, infectious giggle, Road replied, "Of course not, _Allen_~! We would _never_ harm one of our own. We are _family_ after all. _Right_?" Something in Allen's gut told him that there was more meaning behind her words, he just wasn't sure what. Thankfully, he didn't need to respond to her dangerous tone of voice, as she carried on.

"But you see, we can't simply continue to let you have it in your possession. I mean, look at the damage it's already caused," Road spoke with a conniving smile, as she released his hand to present her own, which were now black and shriveled, charred by the power of the Innocence. Allen gasped in shock. Fortunately, he was already sitting, otherwise he would've stumbled back from the horrifying image.

"I-I'm sorry! I-I really am a m-monster!" Allen sobbed, frightened. He couldn't believe he'd done that!

Deftly avoiding his left arm, Road pulled him into a close hug with manipulative smirk. "There, there. I'm sure we can get rid of it." Allen forcefully pulled back, afraid to hurt her again. Knowing he was too weak to escape her grasp, Road simply released him.

Surprisingly, the Maker patted his head in a comforting matter, as he spoke up in his melodious voice, "Do not fret, my boy~. For you see, your Innocence can certainly help out our cause~."

"R-really?" Allen hiccupped, wiping away his tears. Road perked up. This was certainly news to her.

"Why, yes~! By cultivating this hideous weapon, we can have you infiltrate the enemy~!" the Earl exclaimed, and continued to say, "Let me explain~. The _Exorcists_, those that wield the corrupt power of Innocence, fight against our cause in an attempt to eliminate our family and everything we stand for~. With you, my boy, on our side, we can have a spy in their numbers~. _You_, young Allen, will tear them apart!" The Maker released a small, cruel laugh as he said those last few words, seeming to find amusement in them.

Allen took in a gulp, before carefully saying, "A-and after I've gotten you the information you want, will you k-kill me?"

The Millenium Earl chuckled again as he replied, "Information~? We do not need _their_ information~. We already know everything there is to know about the Exorcists and their filthy Black Order~! Your mission will be to befriend them, gain their trust~. And when you reveal yourself, you will plant a seed of doubt in them~! They will tear themselves apart, when they realize that they can trust _no one_~!" The Earl's large grin turned wicked as his amber eyes narrowed with hideous glee.

"Yes! And did you not hear me earlier, Allen? You're one of us now! Welcome to our family~!" Road giggled along with the Earl.

"I-I am? How?" Allen blinked, not understanding.

"Ah, those explanations can wait for another day, young Allen~. You are tired, are you not~?" the Maker pointed out. Allen felt that answering otherwise would be a mistake, so he immediately nodded in response. Either way, he wasn't wrong. Allen felt like he could drop dead any second from how drained he felt. As if on cue, Allen released a loud yawn.

"Ah, yes, I knew it~. Come, let's get you back to your cell~. You will be staying there until we can get a permanent room for you~!" the Earl babbled, switching over to his "friendly" persona. As he spoke, he suddenly swept Allen in his arms, as if he were only a baby, causing Allen to completely stiffen. He'd never been held like this before; not even by Mana. But arguing didn't seem like a choice, so he said nothing. The rocking actually managed to relax him, and soon, he was drifting off to sleep.

Before he could fully settle into a deep slumber though, Allen was slightly awakened by a soft spoken conversation.

"Millenie?" Road piped up. The russet-haired boy could faintly hear her skipping alongside the much larger man.

"Yes, my dear Road~?" the Earl hummed.

The ash-skinned girl paused for a moment, before asking, "What if he goes rogue again, once he awakens? I don't think I could stand it another time…"

"Do not worry~!" the Maker chuckled, amused. "I am absolutely sure, that Mana Walker is still alive somewhere~! If Neah is unwilling to submit, his older brother will be the one to pay the price this time around~."

Allen froze.

"Ohh, okay! Hopefully, Neah won't be too upset~!" Road grinned.

Without a doubt, Allen knew he would willingly do anything asked of him.

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**Time Frame — Morning of August 23****rd****, 1889**

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"Good morning, Allen~!" Road cheered, leaning close to boy's sleeping form.

"Hnm?" Allen mumbled, as his pretty, silver eyes fluttered open while he released a soft yawn. Thankfully, Road backed away slightly, allowing Allen room to sit up and stretch out his stiff limbs. Rubbing the grit from his eyes, Allen muttered, "Morning."

"So, what do you wanna do today~?" Road piped up, straightening up eagerly.

"Um, I don't know…" Allen blinked. "Err, what was your name again?"

"Oh! That's right, I never introduced myself! My name is Road Kamelot, the 9th Apostle, Noah of Dreams, and I'm… Well, my age is a bit complicated, but let's say I'm thirteen for now!" Road exclaimed.

Unfortunately for Allen, he had only understood half of that. "Um, the 9th apostle? Noah of Dreams? What _are_ you?" It certainly hadn't escaped Allen's notice all the oddities of this strange girl. The seven stigmata across her forehead; the unnatural, molten gold eyes; her corpse-like, ash-colored skin. Whatever she was, Allen certainly doubted she was human.

With a giggle, Road explained, "We are the reincarnated family of Noah. Each of us, represent Noah in some way. I represent Noah's Dreams, which makes me the 9th apostle! We, unlike those _fake_ Exorcists, are the true apostles of God!"

"What does that make me?" Allen asked with a small frown. Road had made it clear that he was now a part of their family, despite their discovery of his "Innocence". So, shouldn't that make him an "Exorcist"?

"Well, unlike us, your Noah has yet to awaken, so it might be a while before you actually become a Noah," Road swiftly explained. She was getting bored with all the explanations, and she wanted to go play.

"And this?" Allen pointedly held up his left arm. Thankfully, it was once again covered up by his glove and sleeve.

"That is just a regrettable mistake that we can use to our advantage," Road bluntly pointed out. Seriously? When could they stop with all the questions? It was no fun, and they still had to go eat before they could find something fun to do! Hmm, maybe they could go play with Lero…

"Right," Allen muttered. He had to give them credit though. They hadn't ridiculed him because of how his arm looked. They were simply disgusted by the Innocence. Despite his age, Allen understood this well enough, the image of Road's scorched hands having been seared into his brain.

"Okay! Let's go then!" Road impatiently dragged Allen out of the dungeons, leading him towards her room.

"Eh?! Where are we going?" the auburn-haired boy demanded as he staggered after her.

"To get you changed into some proper clothes, and then we can go eat!" Finally arriving to her room, Road pushed him in the direction of the couch, and started digging around before finally pulling out a set of clothes for Allen.

"Err, where did you even get clothes that fit me?" Allen asked, slightly disturbed by the fact that the clothing handed to him was around his size. Even if this Noah family was apparently rich, the fact that he hadn't been here for a whole 24 hours and they already had clothes ready for him, was pretty alarming.

"Oh, one of the Akuma maids was a seamstress in her previous life, so I ordered her to make you a whole bunch of clothes for you yesterday when we arrived," Road quickly told him as she began to forcefully push him in the direction of her bathroom. "Now hurry up and change!" she ordered impatiently with a slam of the door.

With an exasperated sigh, Allen decided to leave his question about "Akuma" for a later time. It didn't seem like Road was up for much more than he'd already asked. "Are you ready yet?!" Shaking him out of his thoughts, Allen finally changed into the stiff clothing with an annoyed frown, before throwing the door open.

"Aw, I forgot about shoes!" Road exclaimed, horrified. "Akuma!" Allen's eyes widened in revulsion, as a lady resembling a corpse appeared right beside them.

"Yes, Ms. Kamelot?" the Akuma maid droned. Allen shuddered at the way the lady spoke in her detached and deadened voice, her face expressionless as well.

"I need you to get me a pair of new shoes in his size," Road ordered, while pointing over to Allen. Allen stiffened when the Akuma maid's impassive eyes drifted over to his direction and carefully observed him.

"Right away, Ms. Kamelot," the Akuma maid finally turned back to Road, with a sigh of relief from Allen, and was soon gone.

"What was _that_?" Allen asked, still slightly horrified by the image of the woman.

"Huh? Oh, that was an Akuma Millenie modified to serve us. Oh, look at you! Do you not know how to dress yourself?" Road suddenly demanded, giving Allen an accusing glare. Allen glanced down and shrugged. So what? His shirt had gotten wrinkled slightly, but that was about it. He could see nothing else wrong. With an exasperated sigh, Road made her way over to him and began to tuck his white dress shirt into his black trousers.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!" Allen asked, slightly embarrassed at her actions.

"I'm making you look presentable!" Road snapped, as she finished tucking his shirt in and smoothing it out. "And I'm not done with you just yet~!" With this, Road skipped back over to the pile of clothing and began digging around, attempting to find something suitable to add to his plain outfit. "Aha!" Dashing back over to Allen, she shoved a pair of white, crisp gloves into Allen's hands and then forced him into a formal vest, which she rapidly buttoned it up, before tying a ribbon into a bow underneath the collar of his button-up with a swift flourish. "So~! What do you think~?"

Picking at the ribbon with a distasteful frown, the red-head pointed out, "Uh, purple? Isn't that a bit girly?"

"But we can match now!" the Noah girl retorted with a pout.

"Fine," Allen conceded to the older girl with a discreet roll of his eyes. Unexpectedly, the Akuma servant arrived once again, causing Allen to become stiff again at the corpse-like being. Thankfully, the maid didn't prolong her stay, and left shortly after, leaving him with a new pair of boots.

"Yay! Now let's go eat breakfast~! I'm in the mood for something sweet!" Road cheered as she began to lead him through the halls of the ark, allowing him to walk on his own for once, which Allen was immensely grateful for. He was surprised he had yet to sprain his wrist.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to Allen. "Um, Road? Is the rest of your family going to be there?" he asked, feeling apprehensive. He wasn't sure he was ready to meet _Road's_ family. The auburn-haired boy could barely handle Road alone; let alone her whole family. And something in his gut told him that her family was just as bad as her; if not worse! Allen shuddered slightly.

"Hmm? Oh, no! They're all out on some mission or the other," Road briefly said, as they finally arrived to the empty dining hall. Allen stiffened somewhat, when he noticed the awaiting Akuma maid in the shadows.

"Akuma! Go get us breakfast, and make sure it's sweet!" Road commanded, causing the Akuma maid to swiftly vanish into what Allen presumed to be the kitchen. Leading the younger boy over to the round dining table, she had him sit next to her. "This can be your permanent seat from now on, Allen!"

"Ah, okay," Allen replied, as climbed up onto the seat, allowing him to recognize just how small he really was. Allen frowned.

Swinging her legs back and forth, Road eagerly piped up, "Okay, so you can't tell Millenie, but I'm working on making you your own room!"

"Err, why can't I tell him?" Allen blinked.

"_Because_! He doesn't trust you yet! But I'm bored, so I wanna work on making you a room! So, tell me your favorite color!" Road demanded with an enthusiastic grin.

Allen fiddled with his purple ribbon in careful thought. Certainly not _red_. He hated that color. It was the color of his left arm which had brought him so much trouble. The color of the circus that had beaten him. The color of the blood that had been spilled by those hated villagers. The color of his… _name_. Allen shook the thoughts away. He was no longer Red.

"Blue," Allen replied softly. Blue was the color of the free, open sky. The color that had mocked him for the longest time. But not anymore. Thanks to Mana, he'd been freed of all that. And despite his capture, Allen was determined to regain that freedom one day.

Just as he said this, the dreaded Akuma returned with stacks of food. Soon, the table was being covered with large platters stacked with waffles, pancakes, fruit, and toast, as well as jars of jam and jugs of maple syrup. Allen didn't think he'd ever seen this much food. Scratch that. He _knew_ he'd never seen this much food. The russet-haired boy didn't even know what some of this stuff was!

Road giggled at his amazed expression, and shoving a fork into his hand she ordered, "Go on, Allen!"

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Allen immediately began to stack a large amount of food onto his plate along with Road, Akuma forgotten. He suddenly realized that it had been a whole day since he'd last eaten! Allen greedily devoured the scrumptious and sweet—just as Road had ordered—breakfast with gusto. It wasn't long before both of them had finished up all the food.

"Thanks Road! That was great!"

Road beamed back, noticing that it was the first time Allen had truly smiled sine he'd arrived here. Still grinning, Road exclaimed, "Just wait until tomorrow, when the whole family is here for breakfast!"

It took a lot of strength for Allen not to puke the food back up.

"Now c'mon, Allen~! Let's go play~!"

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of August 24****th****, 1889**

* * *

"Come. On. Allen!" Road huffed. She didn't know where the younger boy had found the strength, but dragging him to the dining hall was turning to be a lot more strenuous than she'd thought possible.

"I-I can't!" Allen pulled back, trying to escape the ash-skinned girl's firm grasp.

"Why. Not?" she stressed, digging her feet into the tile, so far winning their "tug-a-war" session.

"B-because! Your family sounds terrifying!" Allen gasped, as he pointlessly tried to pull away.

"They're. Not. That. Bad!" Road exclaimed. "Aha!" Allen had finally stumbled, and quickly taking advantage, the young Noah girl opened up her up brilliantly colored, heart-shaped door and hauled him through. Before long, they were stumbling into the dining hall, Road's door disappearing behind them with a snap of her fingers.

"W-what?!" Allen yelled in shock, when he realized they'd somehow made it in practically one step. "Wait! Where is everyone?" Allen had soon noticed that the dining hall was actually empty, with the exception of them.

"They'll be arriving soon!" Road heaved him up into a standing position and swiftly begin to straighten his clothing out, which was pretty similar from yesterday's outfit, with the exemption of the ribbon. Today's color was a soft, baby-blue. Allen still thought it was girly.

Forcefully dragging the red-head over to their seats once she'd finished, Road quickly sat them down. It wasn't long before other Noah began to arrive. Allen sat rigidly in his seat, attempting to ignore the curious stares directed at him. Road simply swung her legs back and forth, thrilled at the chance to introduce not only their little brother, but also their new weapon against the hated Exorcists. She positively could not wait! It was going to be incredible!

Once they'd all gathered—with the exception of the Millenium Earl, who was busy with a couple of clients—and the Akuma maids had served them breakfast, Road spoke up with a clasp of her hands, "Everyone! I would like you to meet the newest member of our beloved family! This is Allen!"

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**A/N:** I should be updating in two weeks. Maybe sooner if I get a good amount of reviews, just because those tend to be very motivational when pertaining to my writing!(; I really do hope many of you will a drop a quick review though, just to let me know if you would like a continuation of this. Until next time!


	2. Fabricated Bonds

**A/N: **Hey, everyone! I'm here with another (and much longer than expected) update for you!^-^ Thank you very much to **Torashii**, **KillerAkuma**, and **countrylovinfangirl** for dropping by such lovely reviews! And I appreciate the favorites and follows that I've received as well! Please enjoy!(:

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**Disclaimer****: **No, I do not own anything, but I wish I did, simply so I could see its continuation (no offense meant Hoshino-sensei)!

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Chapter 2

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**Time Frame — ****Noon of December 14th, 1889**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

The small seven-year-old gasped, trying to keep up with his older companion's long, swift strides. Not being able to stand it any longer, the red-headed boy came to an abrupt stop, crossing his arms and tilting his head up to give the teen a pointed glare. "Tyki! Would you quit walking so fast! I can barely keep up!" Allen was beginning to get irritated. Chasing around the older Portuguese through the bustling crowds was not exactly his idea of fun.

Coming to a halt himself, Tyki returned the younger boy's aggravated glower. "Quit whining, boy. There's much more important matters at hand!" Noticing Allen's unrelenting stance, Tyki rubbed his face with frustration and all of a sudden took a hold of Allen, eliciting a yelp of surprise from him. Casually swinging him onto his back, Tyki returned to his previous saunter. "You know there's no time to waste. Sheryl will kill me if we mess this up."

"Sheryl's a loon," Allen simply muttered, slightly rolling his eyes. In his opinion, they were making way too much of a big deal. Sheryl had just recently been elected Minister and they were charged with hosting their first Christmas Ball. This wasn't really the problem though…

"I know he is!" Tyki retorted. "But the Earl is insistent on the whole family being there. In a whole ballroom full of retched humans, boy!"

"Yes, I know. You're anxious you'll lose control. I've heard it a million times. Millenie already said he'd cover it up," the younger boy shrugged, trying his hardest to be nonchalant. It was tough, but after months of practicing, Allen had learned to keep his horror at bay. To speak of the demise of other human beings so casually… If only Mana could see him now. Allen shuddered at the thought. _I have to survive, for Mana,_ the child thought fiercely. And if the meant acting like humans disgusted him, then so be it. Truly, it hadn't been too long ago when he himself had already felt that way, but Mana's compassion had shown him the beautiful side of humanity. One in which he could be happy.

His train of thought was suddenly cut off by Tyki's drawl. "That's _not_ the point, boy. He's testing us to see the level of control our Noah have."

"My name is _Allen_," the red-head simply retorted. As an afterthought, he added, "You'd think _I'd_ be the one that was terrified. I _am_ going to be one of the humans attending."

"I'm not terrified!" Tyki immediately snapped.

"Are _so_~!" Allen guffawed, childishly sticking his tongue out at the nineteen-year-old, who noticed his irksome actions out of the corner of his eye.

"Why you little—!" Tyki reached back to smack the russet-haired kid. But seeing it coming, Allen began to tug at Tyki's own hair. His laughter turned raucous as Tyki reserved to shouting expletives. They made quite the ruckus, and it wasn't until later that night that Sheryl had to go and bail them out for "causing a scene in the presence of small children".

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of December 18th, 1889**

* * *

Allen leaned back against the chilly bench, comfortably bundled up in his scarf, coat, and gloves, casually swinging his legs back and forth as he gently sucked on a lollipop Road had given him earlier that morning. He was currently waiting for said girl, though it was hard to spot her, taking into account the continuous stream of children being released out into the courtyard for their half-hour break. School was certainly one of the downsides of being forced to join the Noah Clan. It only meant that he had to deal with snooty teachers, snot-nosed children, and piles of homework that didn't even make any sense to him. It was only through Tyki's assistance that Allen was doing relatively well in his classes. But he still didn't think any of it was worth it. Allen dreamed of the day he could return to traveling with his beloved father, Mana.

"Allen~!" Road skipped over to Allen, carelessly shoving aside anyone standing in her way. The small, silver-eyed boy briefly wondered if she ever took notice of the constant glares of accusation that always followed her down the halls, and then decided that she probably couldn't care less.

"Hello, Road," Allen smiled slightly. Though Allen still found the girl's sadistic ways frightening, he'd grown used to her constant presence. Plus, her company was a welcomed sight in the face of other, and certainly more innocent, children. Sometimes, Allen was utterly shocked at how naïve they all were. He may not yet be a brutal and vicious Noah like Road, but even he'd had to face his own share of violence when he was younger. Suddenly being thrust into a world full guileless people greatly unsettled him.

Plopping down next to him, Road beamed. "Aren't you excited, Allen? It's finally our last day, and afterwards, Tricia promised to take me out in order to buy a gown for the ball! Want to come with me, Allen?"

"Sure, Road," he agreed easily enough, knowing she'd find some way to force him to go if he dared say no. "And yes. I'm really not going to miss this place."

Road let out an infectious giggle. "It's okay, Allen. I hate it too! But Millenie asked that we keep up appearances for daddy."

Allen was about to further argue, when someone abruptly crashed right into the female Noah, who in turn, collided with Allen, causing all three to tumble onto the rough concrete. Fortunately for Allen and Road, the short topple hardly affected them. Sitting up, Allen blinked owlishly at the oddly, pretty girl that was being fussed over by her friends, who'd already helped her up. But rather than apologizing like Allen had expected, the girl's face contorted into a sneer directed right at Road, while loftily saying to her friends, "Goodness! You didn't have to shove me right into the _freak_!"

Warily, Allen stood up with the help of Road. This was the last thing he'd expected. Sure, he was aware of the fact that the other children felt defensive when around her. Scared even. He'd basically attributed this to the Noah within her. But this girl simply exuded resentment. Of what, Allen could hardly imagine.

"What? Have nothing to say to us, _freak_?" one of the younger girls ridiculed her with obvious disdain. And to the red-head's surprise, it was true. Road merely offered them a cold, impassive gaze, as if they were beneath her very existence. "And what about you?" the same girl suddenly turned to Allen, bestowing him with a curious glance. "Why do you always sit with _her_?"

Allen blinked. "Because she's my sister." And it was technically true. To officially enter the family, Road had convinced him to let Sheryl adopt him. Not only did he regret it because it felt like a betrayal to Mana, but it turned out Sheryl was a complete lunatic; obsessing over his precious and adorable children. It was a little bit terrifying.

Due to his answer, Allen was rewarded with a blank stare. He could see why; they certainly didn't fit the description. Sure, they shared the same common European facial features with their wide eyes, small noses, and thin lips. They even had the same pallid complexion and pin-straight hair—though that was only due to the fact that Road brushed her hair straight for school rather than letting it curl up wildly around her (apparently, they had a policy about such things). The main features that usually set people apart from others though, were entirely different. Where Allen's hair was a lighter, coppery color, Road's was an inky black that tended to shine purple when hit with direct sunlight. And where Road's eyes were a deep, violet, Allen's were a softer mercury.

But before Allen could receive any sort of argument, the small group of unpleasant girls was knocked over like a set of bowling pins by another pair of siblings that were cackling madly. Road and Allen didn't even try to hide their snickers as the schoolgirls shrieked in surprise, some of them actually bursting into dramatic tears.

"That'll teach you to mess with our siblings, you stinky girls!" Devitto declared with a cackle, as immature as any ten-year-old could get.*****

"Yeah! Yeah! Only we can do that! Hihihihi~!" Jasdero added with his own laugh. Fortunately, the twins were free of make-up smudges and stitches—though Allen knew perfectly well that they'd have it back on as soon as they were back home in the Ark—and were wearing the school uniform, having actually listened to the Earl's instructions.

Satisfied with a job well done, the twins scampered off to terrorize more children, Allen was sure, wildly waving their "toy" guns about. "What is wrong with all your freaky siblings?!" one of the girls wailed. But rather than deeming her with an answer, Road abruptly began to amble away, much to their astonishment. Without a thought, Allen followed after her. It wasn't until they were nearing the doors that one of the girls thought to yell, "Hey! Where do you think you're going, freak?!"

All they received in response was the heavy thud of the double oak doors as they were slammed shut.

"Where are we going to this time, Road?" Allen asked, knowing perfectly well that they weren't allowed inside during their break, unless due to extreme weather conditions. But they'd done it before and never been caught. It seemed the teachers were a little too confident in their authority.

"Let's go to the library!" Road skipped off ahead through the winding corridors, Allen racing after. Not that they were particularly interested in reading, but the fire was always stoked to a large, comfortable blaze, with thick, warmed-up rugs surrounding the fireplace. It wasn't too long before they were snuggled up comfortably, leaning against each other.

"Road?" Allen finally ventured.

"Yes~?" Road hummed, relaxing against the younger boy.

Offering her a curious glance, Allen asked, "How come you don't do anything about those girls? Knowing you, I would've thought their bodies would have ended up in some ditch by now." Allen swallowed back the bile that rose to his mouth at the thought.

"Yes! Their corpses would make a pretty sight, wouldn't they?" Road briefly giggled. "Actually, it's just sort of became a habit over the years. I know Millenie could cover it up, but ever since Neah died, he's just been so sad and I didn't want to cause him unnecessary trouble… Then again, he's theoretically back through _you_, Allen."

Knowing exactly where this was going (and regretting bringing it up in the first place; because giving Road the consent to cause any sort of deadly trouble was never a good idea), Allen promptly redirected the subject. "Ah, Road? Can you tell me more about Neah? When you told the family which Noah I was, they looked… I'm not sure… They looked uneasy," Allen finally muttered with a frown.

Road straightened up from her comfy position, a somber expression coloring her normally cheerful face. "Neah was—" Road was abruptly cut off by the tolling of the bell that indicated the end of their break, causing a frown of irritation to mar her delicate features. "I promise I'll tell you later. Okay, Allen?"

Allen nodded eagerly. He certainly hadn't feigned his curiosity. It had in fact, been bothering him for quite a while.

Reluctantly, they got up and straightened themselves out, before subtly immersing themselves among the throng of students, deftly avoiding the teachers' watchful gazes. With a sigh of relief, Allen knew the school day would soon be over.

* * *

**Time Frame — Afternoon of December 18th, 1889**

* * *

"Ah, Jasdero? Devitto? Do you know where Road is?" Allen called out with caution, specifically positioned on the other side of the hallway from somewhere in the Ark, fidgeting in his spot. Admittedly, the twins still terrified him, which was no wonder. They were only three years older than him, but taking into account their crazed grins, smeared make-up, stitches, and the fact that they had a habit of pointing their guns to each other's heads was more than a little unsettling. Their recent interest in all black clothing also didn't help. Despite this though, Road was even more frightening than them when she was angered, so this was the lesser of the two evils.

Allen's silvery eyes turned as wide as saucers when he realized that they were making their way over to him, identical smirks plastered onto their faces. Nearing him, Devitto was the first to reply, "Why, if it isn't the little traitor!"

"Yeah! Traitor! Hihihihi~!" Jasdero parroted him, with his usual bizarre giggle at the end.

"Err, so have you seen Road?" Allen squirmed, a little perturbed by the nickname they had graced him with. Despite the numerous times that he'd asked them why they called him that, they would only ever tell him that he was the traitor of the family. Though Allen _had_ noticed that they'd taken care not to call him that in front of the other members of the family.

"The little boy wants to know where our dear, old sister is! What shall we do, Jasdero?" Devitto smirked devilishly.

Jasdero released another crazed chortle and demanded, "Shoot him! Shoot him!"

"Ah, well if you insist…" And before Allen knew it, the ten-year-old twins had already shouted simultaneously, "_Blue Bomb!_"

"Gah!" Allen shrieked, evading the freezing blast just in time.

And so, it had begun.

Allen wasn't sure how long their rampage through the Ark lasted, but it certainly didn't end soon enough! Heaving a gasp, Allen stumbled down yet another dark corridor, managing to elude yet another one of those dreaded bombs. To the red-head's great misfortune, he had been unable to fully dodge all of the twins' assaults, having occasionally been caught in some of their attacks. Because of this, most of Allen's clothing was singed, charred through, and even frozen in some places. His many tumbles throughout the Ark had also earned him quite the bout of cuts and bruises, which only added to the pain of some of the burns and blisters to his exposed skin from that awful Red Bomb.

Believing that he might've finally lost them, Allen staggered to an exhausted halt, leaning heavily against a bulky portrait framing a lofty wall to his right. Inhaling some much needed oxygen, Allen attempted to pull himself together but was regrettably unable to.

"_Green Bomb!_" he heard the twins' call of the dreaded, gooey hit that he knew all too well would follow. But for once, it seemed that fate was on Allen's side, because just as the Noah twins called out the attack, another individual stepped in, demanding in a cold voice, "What is going on here?"

But the attack had already been released. Allen cringed, awaiting the inevitable, but much to his shock, he was hauled out of the way just in time, leaving the portrait behind Allen to undertake the bright green slime. Blinking away his shock, Allen glanced up to see Lulubell's cold face contorting in disgust once she saw the mess created. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen noticed the frozen figures of Devitto and Jasdero, as they stared at Lulubell's intimidating figure with unconcealed horror. Before they could even think to run away though, Lulubell spoke up.

"The Earl instructs you to go see him this instant."

Their dark, ash-colored skin immediately paled to a dull gray. If Allen knew one thing about them, it was that they greatly feared the Millenium Earl. They had only been with the Noah a month or two longer than Allen had, but it hadn't taken the Earl long to straighten them out, though they were still willing to get into mischief if they thought they could get away with it. Unfortunately this time around, they hadn't added Lulubell into the equation.

"B-but—"

Rather than listening to their protests, Lulubell turned from them, directing her next command to an Akuma hidden in the shadows. "Akuma, escort these boys to Master, immediately."

Without question, the Level 3 stepped out and began to lead the troublesome Noah boys down a different passageway. Once they disappeared from view, the hurt and fatigue hit Allen at full force and he swayed slightly, before awkwardly collapsing to the ground with great relief. It was finally over! And all because of a stupid question…

Allen vaguely noticed someone picking him up gently. Through heavy lidded eyes, he dimly saw Lulubell's faithful servant, Mimi, cradling him closely to her, taking him to where he presumed his room would be.

"Make sure his injuries are all taken care of, no matter how minor they may be. After you've finished tending to him, report back to my room," Allen distantly heard Lulubell order.

"Yes, Madam Lulubell!" Mimi swiftly turned to call back, before scampering around a different hallway.

Whatever happened next was a bit blurred to Allen, as he was too weary to keep up, but he was pretty sure Mimi had scrubbed him down from all the filth covering him, before bandaging up his minor burns, putting him into a pair of his pajamas and then lying him down in his bed. Either way, Allen was all too content to simply relax and slumber away.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of December 18th, 1889**

* * *

Allen lazily sat up on his plush bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, his features calmed and relaxed. The nap had been a nice, comfortable one and he was undoubtedly feeling much better. The small cuts on his body had already scabbed over and the throbbing from his minor burns had dulled to a slight sting. Allen was positive he'd come out of this encounter relatively unscathed; at least compared to past scuffles. No matter. Allen knew that soon enough, Road would design some scheme or the other in order to get them back. It had sort of become routine for them to go back forth like this in last couple weeks. It really had been foolish of him to face them alone…

_Blast it! I completely forgot about Road! Ugh, she's going to murder me! Or worse…_

"It's about time you woke up, boy," Tyki unexpectedly drawled from beside him.

Glancing over, Allen saw him casually sitting back on an armchair, flipping carelessly through a book. "Err, why are you here, Tyki?"

"What? Can't a worried uncle visit his precious nephew?" Tyki attempted to give him an innocent look.

Allen wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Since when have _you_ been a 'worried uncle'? And really? 'Precious nephew'? Ugh, you're starting to sound like _Sheryl_…"

"Huh. Good point," Tyki acknowledged, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Anyway, I was told to reassure you that Road's _not_ out to rip your intestines out. Though that's more my thing… In any case, Tricia convinced her that it'd be better to surprise you with the gown she picked out. Plus, her ire is now directed towards the twins, since according to her, 'they were supposed to wait for her, before continuing their fun game'."

"Yeah, that's what this is…" Allen muttered with a shake of his head. "Where _is_ Road?" She usually tended to be in his near vicinity.

"Here and there," Tyki waved it off, and Allen decided he didn't want to know. "Now, get up and get ready boy. I've waited long enough."

"Eh? Where are we going?" Allen called as Tyki escorted himself out.

"Out." And Tyki was gone.

Allen let loose a groan of aggravation, plopping himself back onto his bed. "Not _again_!" The last time had turned into a disaster! At the very least, Tyki had provided him with enough information to let him know he'd need his coat…

* * *

"Could you please explain why we're out here again, Tyki?" Allen insisted. They were back in town again—though Allen couldn't be sure if it was the same one as before; they all tended to look similar once you saw your fair share of them—and Tyki's vague responses were starting to get on the red-headed boy's nerves.

With an exasperated sigh, as if _he_ were the problem, Tyki finally deemed it fit to reply, "We're out gift-shopping, boy. The Earl is very insistent on acting more as a family unit, so he wants to throw a celebration for the twins' eleventh birthday."

"Why didn't you just say so?" Allen huffed. "So, what are we getting them?"

"I don't know about _you_, boy, but _I_—actually, come to think of it, I don't know about myself, either," the older Noah teen mused, eliciting an eye roll from Allen. "I'd get them something nice, but the Earl said that they have to _like_ it, so maybe I'll buy them some of that voodoo make-up or the creepy, punkish clothing they've taken a particular penchant for lately."

"Well, how about getting them clothes that are punkish but still fancy enough for everyone else's taste?" Allen managed to propose with all his seven years of wisdom.

Tyki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, that's actually not a bad idea, boy."

"It's _Allen_," came his feeble protest. He briefly wondered why he bothered trying anymore.

"Let's just get this over with." Tyki quickened his steps, pulling his coat tighter against himself, guarding himself against the frigid winds bursting with flurries of snow. They promptly made refuge in a small trinket shop at the corner of the street.

_Might as well get something here,_ Allen mused. It would certainly make this night go by a lot a faster, and he didn't plan on staying out longer than he had to. _Because that worked out so great last time…_

Allen browsed through the small shop, briefly contemplating the merits of this being some sort of voodoo store—there were enough disturbing knick-knacks and ominous artifacts lying about that were greatly unsettling, their menacing auras occasionally setting off a tremor in him. Mercury eyes eventually landed on a pair of golden revolvers at a bottom shelf that were gradually gathering dust. Figuring the Road would end up obliterating Jasdevi's guns as revenge, the russet-haired boy snatched them up, relieved that they were able to exit the eerie shop before long. The things he did for his "family"…

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of December 24th, 1889**

* * *

Allen had been right. Road really _had_ decided to crush Jasdevi's guns to pieces. It was sad that she was starting to become that predictable to him… Nevertheless, the celebration had been a success with the astounded twins—they'd been kept in the dark about their party—and they had certainly been appreciative of their brand new handguns. Tyki's gift had also been a hit with Jasdevi; he'd acquired each of the now eleven-year-olds a black, leather jacket with silver zippers chaotically thrown about it. Allen was at an absolute loss as to how Tyki had even managed to obtain them—he'd never seen anything like it—but Devitto and Jasdero absolutely loved them. The small red-head had to wonder how Tricia had managed to even extract the twins from the jackets and force them into presentable looking suits, before rubbing off all that dreaded make-up and shoving an actual comb into their wild hair.

Leaning against the railings of the balcony, the small seven-year-old—soon to be eight-year-old—was able to examine the extravagantly decorated ballroom. Garlands of interlacing emerald, gossamer ribbons and crimson poinsettias were draped about the great room, with occasional spaces in which mistletoe hung, and in one corner of the room stood an immense and intensely ornamented Christmas tree. The richness of the room was difficult to take in all at once for the once deprived boy, and it was giving him a bit of a headache.

"Allen! What do you think~?" Road exclaimed, twirling into his line of sight with a beam.

"Very nice, Road," Allen answered sincerely with a small smile. The female Noah was incased in a lavish, pure white ball gown, accented with scarlet ribbons and lace. Her inky hair was straightened and slightly curled in, with a crimson bow adorned on one side of her beaming face.

With an eager nod, Road pointed out, "Yes! We're matching!" Glancing down, Allen noticed this to be true. Having forgone his usual black dress clothes, Allen had dressed in a pair of off-white slacks, with a ruby-red, silk waistcoat now replacing his gray one, along with a matching, off-white overcoat. His boots had also been substituted with dress shoes, and of course, the usual bow that Road enjoyed adding to his outfits was scarlet as well. "Even your hair matches," Road giggled, causing Allen to self-consciously tug at his brilliant red hair.

"Ugh, I can't take this anymore! It's suffocating me!" Allen and Road turned to see an aggravated Devitto untying the red ribbon around his own neck with a snap of the fabric.

"Me too!" Jasdero mimicked his actions with a relieved sigh.

With an exasperated roll of her eyes, Road snatched the ribbon from Jasdero's hands. Taking a hold of his shoulder-length, golden locks, she deftly pulled them back into a loose, curled ponytail at the base of his neck, tying it off with the ribbon in a flourish. "There! At least _you'll_ still be wearing red!"

Ignoring her accusatory frown, Devitto simply leaned back against the railing, next to Allen, contentedly twirling his golden pistol in one hand. The twins were both wearing matching gray suits—according to Tricia, they looked too sallow and wan in black—but the one splash of color they'd all shared was apparently too troublesome for the mischievous duo.

"Oooh, the icky sub-human humans are here," Jasdero noted with his usual, crazed grin. It was abruptly gone as a result of Road's swift smack to the head.

"_Try_ to act somewhat normal. Daddy's not going to be very happy if you make a mess of things," Road scolded the troublesome twins, which was a bit amusing coming from her.

"Hey, who's that?" Devitto nodded over to a small group that had arrived along with the multitudes of guests. The interesting part though, was the Rose Cross they wore over their hearts.

Road released an infectious giggle. "Oh! That's the best part! With Daddy celebrating his new position as a world leader, he invited representatives from the Vatican. Also known as the Black Order!" Road's grin widened at the trio of wide-eyed boys. "It'll be entertaining to one day meet them again as vicious Noah, don't you think?"

"I'll be working for them," Allen noted quietly.

"Heh! Time to get to know your future bosses, kid!" Devitto snickered.

"Yeah! Traitor!" Jasdero exclaimed, and was cuffed by Road again. "Ow!"

"He's _infiltrating_ them! Actually, it'll be an even better shock to them," Road decided with a malicious grin.

"Oh boy…" Allen muttered. What a mess. Further observing the small group, the most prominent figure that became apparent was a tall, broad-shouldered man with slick, coffee-colored hair and a small, squared mustache situated underneath his sharp nose. He wore a regal looking, burgundy suit and appeared to be conversing with the other two men that seemed to be accompanying him. One was a slight, mousy man and somewhat nondescript, while the other one came across as a lot more interesting. He was just as tall and broad-shouldered as the first man, though significantly younger. His long, sleek hair was long, pulled back into a ponytail, and shown purple in the light; he was clearly of Asian origin, with thin, wire glasses shielding his slanted eyes.

He suddenly heard Road snicker from beside him. "Look at that, boys. Seems as if someone brought their pet."

"Ugh! The little girl reeks of Innocence!" Devitto gagged, his face scrunching up as if he had smelled the worst possible thing imaginable. "We've already had to learn to disregard Allen's Innocence, but I don't know if I can handle a different one!"

Shifting silver eyes finally landed on two small, individuals that had gone undetected while standing next to the towering representatives of the Black Order. Allen's wide eyes finally landed on the girl that Devitto had referred to. She was a minuscule little thing. Though she might've been a bit older than Allen, it was tricky to tell with how frail and feeble she looked. Her sallow skin clung thinly to her delicate bones in an unhealthy manner, shadows clung to the underneath of her too-big, darks eyes, and her waist-length, dull tresses drooped limply against her tiny body.

In stark contrast, the older boy that escorted her was strong and fit. He held himself stiffly, as if he carried both their weights, though he was only holding her by the elbow. His lengthy, blonde locks were pulled back into a tight ponytail, apart from a couple of loose bangs, though it hardly obscured the strange dots resting upon his forehead. Was he an Exorcist too?

"Who's the other kid?" Allen asked aloud.

Glancing over to the boy in question, Road was the one to reply, "Who knows. Not an Exorcist, for sure. He's probably one of their pawns-in-training."

Allen frowned. So that was how their Exorcists were treated. You'd think it would be their own soldiers that they would care for the greatest. Allen had only seen one Exorcist, and already he felt disconcerted. With both the Noah and Innocence inhabiting him, he'd eventually accepted inevitability of him having to join this Holy War, but for the first time, Allen found himself being grateful that it was the Noah that had discovered him first. They may be out to destroy humanity, but Allen's first goal was the survival of Mana and himself. It seemed this Black Order hardly let you even do that. At the very least the Noah looked after him; treated him like family even. One day, Allen planned on reuniting with Mana, but for now, this was more than he could have asked for.

"D-Devitto! I-I can't take it!" Jasdero whined as his body trembled slightly, his fingers inadvertently twitching in the direction of the Exorcist girl as his pupils dilated with bloodlust. For the third time that night, Road whacked him upside the head. Allen had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.

"No kidding. This little self-control check suddenly took on a whole new level," Tyki drawled as he strode up behind them.

"Stupid Exorcist girl," Jasdero whimpered, leaning heavily against his twin brother.

"This exactly why the Earl wanted us to do this. We have to be in control of ourselves. But standing up here isn't going to cut it. Sheryl sent me up here to tell you to go dance and socialize with the rest of us," Tyki directed them.

Allen swiftly noted what the other Noah were doing, to see if he could try and take their example. As per plan, Skinn was standing guard at the door and looking over to see if the guests were in fact, invited ones. Luckily for the Noah of Wrath, he didn't have the social niceties in order to interact with others so that was all he needed to do. And just like Tyki had been doing only a moment ago, both Sheryl and Lulubell were dancing with guests, who seemed absolutely charmed with each of them respectively, completely oblivious to the slaughter they could cause at a moment's notice. To Allen's amusement, he noticed Lulubell's unhidden disgruntlement. The teenage Noah was outfitted in an extravagant, crimson gown, highlighted with white lace—a sort of inversion and more mature edition of Road's dress—with golden curls piled high atop her head. And the male attention was not lacking. Despite being only sixteen, her serious demeanor gave off an impression of maturity and age, attracting an even larger range of both men and boys alike. But Lulubell soldiered through it, and Allen was thankful to not be in the center of such attention.

"Maybe you should go and ask the Exorcist freak to dance," Road giggled mockingly, sneering in the direction of the ailing girl. Allen sometimes speculated as to whether they forgot that that could have been him; or even the fact that he possessed Innocence. And then decided that he'd rather not bring it up.

In any case, Allen actually went with Road's sardonic idea. It was either that, or dancing with some of the other adolescent females—which was as young as they got and did nothing to reassure the tiny boy—and he'd rather face the uptight boy escorting her than them. Thankfully, they'd slightly separated from the Vatican envoys, so Allen wouldn't need to engage them in any sort of conversation for the sake of politeness. Once the musical assembly paused in between songs, Allen obtained the courage to step up to the awkward duo.

"Ah, would you mind if I asked your accompanying lady for a dance?" Allen asked the practiced question, as he had rehearsed with Tyki—though he felt the query might've sounded silly in his high-pitched voice. His adopted Uncle had refined the minor skills Mana had taught him in etiquette, which had included dancing lessons, how to have polite and meaningless conversations, as well as how to deal with pompous buffoons without going to blows.

"Of course," the blonde replied in his rigid manner.

Allen turned to the young girl and presenting one of his glove-covered hands, he asked with a child-like, charming smile, "May I have this dance?"

"Y-yes," she murmured shyly, placing her petite hand in his. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen took note of the young, Asian delegate giving them a sharp look. His gaze did not leave them.

"I am Allen. It is a pleasure to meet you," the red-head introduced himself, continuing the conversation he'd rehearsed with Tyki as he lead the girl into a dance with practiced eased. She seemed a bit clumsy at first, as if she rarely used her limbs, but got the hang of it quickly enough.

"I'm Lenalee," she introduced herself in turn, offering him a small, weak smile.

"Well, Lenalee, you look beautiful," Allen complemented her as Tyki had taught him. Albeit, it was a bit of a stretch. Not that she wasn't pretty, but her unhealthy disposition was a little difficult to look past. Though he hardly found it appropriate to blame the deprived girl.

It didn't seem to make a difference to her though, because her smile turned a little brighter. "Thank you."

"So, what can you tell me about yourself, Lenalee?"

And so it continued for many more dances. He continued to engage her in meaningless discussions and she tried to go along with it, though she seemed to find it difficult at times. It looked as if though Lenalee's short life had not been very positive, but Allen continued to turn the discussions back on her, though he occasionally let her be privy to some of the whacky situations he'd gotten himself into with Road and the twins. Tyki had taught him that people essentially enjoyed speaking about themselves, and Lenalee was no exception no matter how challenging it was for her sometimes, but Allen would swiftly change the subject then and she'd be able to quickly switch her train of thought. Lenalee seemed fond of speaking about her friendship with another Exorcist named Kanda, though he didn't seem like much of a friend to Allen, but she was even more fond of listening to Allen speak about his school days. Lenalee was utterly enraptured with the idea of actually going to school with other children in order to learn.

It eventually had to come to an end though. The blonde from before, that she had referred to as Link, stepped back in. Allen had a distinctive feeling that it wasn't his idea, but nonetheless kissed Lenalee's hand, much to her embarrassment, and bid her farewell. He noticed the Asian representative's eyes narrowing at his actions, confirming his suspicions.

"You know, I wasn't being serious when I suggested you to dance with _her_," Road commented with a petulant pout, as he neared her.

"Oh." Allen decided it was best not to argue with her and simply blinked.

Road scowled at him for the fraction of a second, before declaring, "Come on, Allen, let's dance! The twins are horrid compared to you."

"Err, alright," Allen simply agreed, a bit relieved that he wouldn't have to practice social niceties with Road. As they danced, Allen recalled something he had been trying to broach for the past couple days. "Road?"

"Yes~?" Road practically sang as she spun out into a twirl and then back into stance.

"You never did tell me about Neah," Allen reminded her, as he continued to lead her in a waltz.

The female went slightly rigid, her expression becoming faintly detached as her mind evoked past memories. Road's usual, lively eyes suddenly aged before Allen, as she distantly murmured, "It was brutal, and I'm not sure if I ever did completely forgive him." Her reaction to his name was much stronger than last time, and Allen briefly wondered as to why that was.

"Brutal?" Allen prodded when she became silent. He felt slightly bad for bringing up her awful memories, but curiosity won out.

Their waltz merged into a slower, simpler dance in response to the gradual change in music, before Road finally begin to recollect, "To be honest, Allen, I'm finding it difficult to remember everything. I've been trying to forget for the longest time, that I'm suddenly having trouble recalling…" Road paused for a moment before switching her train of thought, "I think Millenie knows most of the story, but he gets so sad when it's brought up. I only know what I saw Allen, and what I saw wasn't pretty."

A little wary, Allen prompted her, "Why not?"

Turing her aged and weary eyes to gaze into his silver pools, Road began hesitantly, "Neah… Neah was special. There wasn't _supposed_ to be a 14th Noah. But one day, he suddenly turned up, and without question, Millenie took him in. The Noah of Destruction; we'd never heard of such a thing. Millenie suspected that maybe the twins that merge into one in order to become the Noah of Bonds, might count as one Noah, rather than two. He wondered if maybe Neah was the true 13th Noah; said that maybe this was his first reincarnation because this is when he was truly needed in order to win the war. Oh, how wrong he was… Neah ended up being _our_ destruction…"

Allen furrowed his brows. "What do you mean, '_your_ destruction'?"

"I loved Neah; he was my best friend. Which is why I never brought up the fact that I knew he used to sneak out. I knew he was meeting up with his older brother, Mana Walker." Allen's eyes widened. "But what I didn't know was that he was meeting up with others. With _Exorcists_. I never did know all of the members that made up their little renegade group, though ironically enough, I do recall one of them going by the name of Allen… The one I did come to hate though, was that Cross. At any rate, I never thought to question it because I knew Neah was having difficulty letting go of his humanity. I believed he eventually would, and that was my first mistake."

"What happened then?" Allen gently asked.

Taking a deep breath, Road continued, "I still find the events to be blurred. It was all so baffling, and though I didn't realize it at first, I felt _heartbroken_. To think that one of our own family members could do that…" Road trailed off, her eyes distant. Focusing back on him, she finally clarified, "Neah destroyed us all. He _slaughtered_ us. The first few he took out were easily murdered due to their shock. After that, you'd think a combination of us would have been able to take him out. But it wasn't until then that we realized just how _powerful_ he was… I guess you can't receive the title 'Noah of Destruction' without having the strength to back it up. He damaged me pretty badly, and at last minute, I managed to crawl into my Dream World. That's how I survived, and when I came to, I forced myself to go back, but by then it was too late. By then the Noah had been slaughtered, and the Millenium Earl was weeping over Neah's corpse."

It was a lot to take in and Allen's mind was going in a million different directions. His thoughts first stuck to his adoptive father, Mana. So it was true. Though he'd overheard the Millenium Earl and Road mentioning his relationship with Neah on his first night, by morning it had been nothing more than a blur and he'd begun to question his own sanity by suspecting that Mana had any connections to the Noah.

His second thoughts went in the direction of Neah's actions. Seeing Road's sorrow in her eyes made him feel slightly guilty, but not enough to keep the question from forming his head; wouldn't he be willing to take the same actions Neah had in order to protect Mana? In the end, he would always choose Mana, so the answer was yes, though he didn't believe he would. Allen's current goal was to survive, and angering a whole clan of beings out to destroy humanity did not fall under the category of measures to take in order for survival.

Allen's last thoughts were a little less serious. He was simply wondering about this other 'Allen'. Mana had technically named him after his deceased dog, but if Mana really was part of this renegade group, maybe the name had more merit to it. Maybe Mana had been close to this other 'Allen'. He momentarily wondered what had happened to him, but then decided that he probably didn't want to know.

The rest of the night was quieter for Allen. After a couple more dances with Road he went off with the twins out into the garden to lighten his mood. Playing pranks on teenage aristocrats turned out to be a lot more fun than he thought. It was certainly a sharp contrast from the somber mood that had developed after his conversation with Road.

Eventually, it became late and the guests started to disperse slightly. Glancing over at the large wooden clock resting against the wall, Allen noticed nostalgically that it was past midnight. Drifting back outside, he took a seat on one of the stone benches along the garden and stared longingly out into the wide, obsidian skies that shimmered vividly with stars.

Closing his eyes, and imagining for just a moment that Mana sat beside him, he murmured to the skies, "Happy birthday to me, Mana."

* * *

*****This is a sort of head-canon that I'm making, in which those that become Noah _will _continue to age up until their Noah fully awakens (such as when Tyki's did during the Ark arc), therefore, yes, Jasdero and Devitto _are_ ten years old and I'm making it perfectly legitimate, so don't ruin my fun! It _is_ FanFiction after all.(:

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**A/N: **Don't trust that I'll continue to update this quickly. It's more of a one-time thing, so milk it for what it's worth. Anyway, could you guys pretty please review for me?^-^


	3. Double-Cross

**A/N: **So it's been almost a week since my last update, so I thought I'd whip this up for you guys!(: I truly appreciate all those who have taken an interest in my story and a big thank you to **D. P. Master01** and **1Anime2Freak** for taking the time to review!^-^

Now, just to warn you, this takes place about six years after the previous chapter, so big time skip here! Other than that, there's not much to say, and I hope you'll enjoy.(;

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**Disclaimer****: **I certainly do not own **D. Gray-Man**. For now… *shifty eyes*

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Chapter 3

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**Time Frame — ****Morning of January 12th, 1896**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

Allen rubbed his head with a small groan. He'd been just fine the night before, when he went to sleep, and waking up with a splitting headache had not been part of his plan. With a small, pained sigh, the now fourteen-year-old forced himself to slip out of bed and get ready for the day. Road had been hinting at something possibly important happening today, and if he didn't get ready now, Road would probably come in herself shove him out of bed, with the twins not far behind. They always did get out a kick of watching him suffer under Road's reign.

"Allen! Allen!" he heard Road call as he stepped out of his room, just as he'd predicted.

"Yes, Road?" Allen indulged her as he turned to face her with a small, amused smile.

"Millenie has finally decided! Come on, he'll tell us all about it over breakfast!" Road squealed as she began to drag him down the halls of the Ark.

"Decided what?"

Rather than answering though, Road quickened their pace, making it into the dining room before long, where the rest of the Noah family was already gathering. Allen found it odd that despite the fact that he'd grown up with them for the past seven years, and that they had treated him like family, he could only recall with clarity the day that he had been kidnapped.

"Why, if it isn't our munchkin of a brother," Devitto snickered once Allen and Road had taken their usual seats.

And so, it had begun… Again.

Eye twitching slightly, Allen groused with a disgruntled scowl, "You know Devitto, sometimes I really just want pummel you, but then I remember that that would be animal abuse."

"Boo-hoo! It's not our fault you're so vertically challenged, pipsqueak!" Devitto guffawed.

"Yeah, you midget!" Jasdero sniggered.

"Remember when I asked for your worthless excuse? Yeah, neither do I!" Allen griped, already standing from his seat, preparing to get himself into yet another scuffle with the twins.

"Can't go a day without fighting, can you?" Tyki made the mistake of commenting.

"_Shut it, hobo!_" the three teenage males yelled simultaneously, glaring at the startled Noah.

Allen was abruptly yanked back down to his seat by an exasperated Road. "Quit it! Millenie just arrived!"

Fortunately, the twins had settled down as well by the time the Earl stepped through, humming a cheerful, "Good morning~!"

"_Good morning_," the Noah family chorused with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Now, my family, tell me, how have your missions progressed~?" the Maker inquired in his jovial tone, though the slight narrowing of his eyes suggested that any unpleasant reports were non-optional.

"We killed 'em!" Jasdero cackled gleefully.

The Maker's impossible grin turned wider. "Is that so~?"

"Yep!" Devitto smirked roguishly. "Just eliminated our third target last night! Two more left on our list now."

"It was the least you could do," Tyki grumbled to himself. Allen nodded to himself in agreement. Because of some ridiculously elaborate prank the twins had tried to pull on Road and him a year ago, they had unintentionally revealed themselves as Noah to a pair of Exorcists who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. In response, the Millenium Earl decided to commence the arrangement of his 'play'. Though it seemed as if Tyki was still resentful of them for cutting his time short of going out and playing human. Allen just knew it would mean that they'd be dispatching him off sooner than planned.

As soon as everyone had made their individual reports, the Maker turned to Allen, who shifted uncomfortably in response. He had never gotten quite used to his disturbingly, broad grin. "Allen, my boy, I believe it is now your turn to contribute this family affair~. What do you say~?"

_Do I even have a choice?_ But Allen didn't verbalize his thoughts. Rather, he gave him a polite smile and replied, "Of course, Millenie."

"Now, Allen, I am sure you are already aware of what your mission entails~." Nodding his consent, the Earl took his cue to continue, "Then you are to leave as soon as this meal is complete~. Road will open up a doorway for you, leading you into a town in which I have infested with my precious Akuma~! I am sure those unpleasant Exorcists will show up soon enough, where you will allow them to 'discover' you~. Remember to make an impression, my boy~! You must earn their utmost trust before you may crush it before their very eyes~." The Maker's fierce, golden orbs turned gleeful with anticipation. Allen surely hoped this wouldn't take longer than necessary; Lulubell _had_ warned him against inadvertently reciprocating any affections bestowed by those from the Black Order, and he wholly agreed with her sentiment. His situation was more than sufficiently complicated. Adding more baggage to the load would only be strenuous for the young fourteen-year-old.

"Yeah, baby bro! You better show those Exorcists up!" Devitto cheered with a nasty grin.

"Kill 'em! Hihihihih~!" Jasdero cackled madly.

The cruel madness of a Noah flashed across Devitto's molten gold eyes, as he suggested, "Heh. Maybe we could mess with them for a while, before Allen comes in."

"Yeah!" Road was the one to immediately agree. "The sounds like a lot of fun! Though we _would _have to let Allen trounce us in order to let them escape with their lives…"

"Aw, can't we at least kill one of them?" the dark-haired twin whined.

"No way! They have to have a good impression of Allen!" Road argued vehemently.

With an irritated scowl, Devitto replied in a resigned tone, "_Fine_! But I'm only letting _Allen_ defeat us. No way am I going to let some stupid Exorcist think that they're _my_ better!"

"Can we, Millenie? Can we?" Road practically bounced on her seat with uncontainable enthusiasm. Receiving an amused nod from the large, terrifying Noah, Road practically squealed. "Thank you, Millenie! Ah, messing with the Exorcists is going so entertaining! We'll make them all think that Allen is their savior! Oh, Allen, you must tell us when you reveal your betrayal; I'm so looking forward to seeing the shocked looks on their innocent, little faces. It's all just so much fun!"

With a bewildered nod, Allen replied, "Ah, sure, Road." Though Allen _was_ genuinely pleased that they'd be at least be accompanying him to the first component of his assignment; it reassured him that they'd have his back in case anything went wrong.

"Though, you know, Allen," Devitto slowly began with a mischievous smile. "You shouldn't get too upset if I give you a bit of a beating before I let you 'win'."

With roguish smirk, Allen retorted, "Don't count on it."

* * *

**Time Frame — Afternoon of January 12th, 1896**

* * *

Allen heedlessly strolled about the large, raucous town, towing a dark, purplish umbrella along; and of course, Road had made sure it matched the ribbon to his outfit. How Allen had yet to prevent her from allowing her to play dress-up with him after all these years, he had no clue. Though this time around, the umbrella had not been Road's idea, but the Millenium Earl's, who had created it just for him. It was a golem similar to Lero—one that was connected to Lero, in fact—though this one was much more tame and discreet when in the presence of others. It was designed to respond to only Allen's command, and was made for the purpose of easy communication between Road and himself; once Allen directed the newly made golem to link up with Lero, they would be able to speak to each other through them, though Allen would be hearing his golem's voice rather than Road's, as if it were transmitting the message.

The red-headed teen wasn't sure whether he felt annoyed or amused by his golem. She—Allen was pretty sure it was supposed to be female—seemed to be dejected and despondent most of the time. At the very least, she was much calmer than Lero, who tended to whine and snivel constantly—though Allen was hard-pressed to blame him when the poor pumpkin-head was continuously forced to be in the presence of Road. Fortunately, the head of his golem wasn't a blinding orange, but a subtle white; Allen had to wonder why the Earl had such a fascination with pumpkins. Ultimately, Allen decided not to think too hard on it, and had simply named the disheartening golem Eira, much to Road's insistence.

"Master Allen, Eira~," Eira spoke up in her miserable tone, reiterating her given name in conclusion to her sentences in the same manner as Lero. "I can make out the Exorcists, Eira~!" Eira whimpered faintly.

"Shh, Eira, I'll take care of it," Allen quieted her with a reassuring tone, as he clenched his charcoal colored hand composed of Innocence—it had astonished him how far his Innocence had evolved, considering his league with the Noah; but it seemed sentient enough to understand that he wasn't entirely loyal to them and so had allowed him to further practice with its usage. Fortunately, Eira clamped up and settled down. Carefully observing his surroundings, Allen finally took note of a prominent group dressed in distinguished black and silver uniforms further down the crowded lane. Casually unfurling his enchanted umbrella as a light drizzle descended upon the town, Allen deftly evaded the teeming townspeople, subtly ducking in the direction of the Exorcists. The crowds soon began to thin as the fourteen-year-old neared them.

Allen and his Noah siblings had decided that approaching them first, or even having Allen jump into the middle of the fight, would make him seem more suspicious, so they'd gone with the idea of Allen having to play the victim to start with. Before they could spot him, Allen swiftly furled his umbrella back up, before nimbly tucking it into his rucksack which held the meager clothing he'd brought with him. Taking a calming breath, Allen abruptly began to make a mad dash down the road, purposely shoving a few townspeople aside in order to attract attention with the indignant shouts he received. He even had the nerve jostle one of the three Exorcists as he scurried by.

"What the hell—"

Right on cue, Road suddenly appeared on top of Lero, soaring just above Allen in order to keep up with him. "Don't you want to come and play with us, you filthy Exorcist?!" she yelled madly with one of her crazed grins and a creepy giggle for added effect. The shocked Exorcists stilled for a moment as she completely bypassed them and went after a total stranger… and then immediately sprinted behind them with new fervor.

_Hook, line, and sinker, _Allen thought with an amused smirk. It was wiped off soon enough, once the twins began to pop up between alleyways and street corners, hoping to catch him off guard with one of their obnoxious bombs. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on dodging them when the Exorcist group began to grow too close for comfort and Road couldn't contain herself from shouting ridiculous insults. Fortunately, most of the damage was received by the Exorcists.

For a moment, Allen actually enjoyed the preposterous chase throughout the city. Who knew jumping fences, climbing up fire escapes, and leaping off buildings could be so much fun? It eventually had to come to an end though. Nearing the outskirts of town, Allen knew they had arrived to where the actual fight would take place.

Taking a firm stance as he landed back on solid ground, Allen faced his siblings, preparing himself for battle as he rapidly activated his Innocence, causing an angelic, pure white cloak to float about his shoulders and sleek claws to replace his fingers. By the time the group of Exorcists appeared, they arrived in time to view the odd, russet-haired stranger fluidly moving from one nimble step to the other, as he effectively dodged the onslaught of spiked candles from impaling his pale skin.

Before they could intervene though, a horde of Akuma, as well as a pair of new Noah came into sight much to their frustration. Glancing at each other for less than a second, they came to a mutual understanding and activated their Innocence weapons in tandem. The tall red-headed Exorcist went straight for the mass of Akuma, slamming them with his massive hammer left and right before eventually wiping most of them out with an enormous, blazing snake. The long-haired, female Exorcists faced the pair of Noah twins, madly flying about and dodging their attacks, propelling her own turbulent assaults in return. And the callous, Asian Exorcist went straight for Road and Allen, meaning to interfere.

And then, quite unexpectedly, Allen released to a great, piercing scream.

Well, it was only unexpected for Allen and the Noah, in any case.

Everyone froze simultaneously, as they all stared at the unscathed Allen conveying his pain through earsplitting shrieks as he clutched at his head, stumbling slight, before abruptly collapsing on the cold, hard ground. The silence was deafening.

Knowing that trying to engage in battle might only pose a danger to Allen now, the Noah unwillingly retreated. By the time the Exorcists thought to glance around, they had vanished.

* * *

_Allen slowly blinked his eyes open, perplexed and dazed. He almost stumbled onto the concrete, as he wearily ogled his surroundings. The landscape surrounding him was bizarre and astonishing; the night, obsidian sky expanded endlessly, a large, breathtaking crescent moon glowing in its midst and breaking its monotone. The brick path he walked on was incessantly surrounded by pale, skeletal trees that curved and bended with the wind, towering over him. Allen dismally noted the specks of bright snow swirling about._

_"Where am I?" Allen murmured to himself in bewilderment. Glancing back at the impossibly sized moon, he continued to whisper, as if trying to reassure himself that he was truly here, "A huge, white moon."_

_"A world that doesn't seem real."_

_Allen briefly attempted to recall what had occurred before this, but it was all so blurry. Had he been in the middle of a battle? It seemed like it. It all appeared so indistinct and hazy, but he was sure of it. Maybe he'd been killed? "Have I died and gone to the afterlife?" he speculated._

_Finally glancing down from the astonishing sight, he acknowledged the great lake lying before him. A strange one. "Huh? The moon in the sky is white, but the moon reflected in this lake is black." But further observing the rest of the water had Allen's eyes widening in profound horror at the reflection his eyes met. The obsidian moon resided in a disturbingly blood-red sky, and beneath, a dark path, similar to the one Allen stood on, extended down the center, surrounded by chaos and destruction. Unidentifiable corpses were littered over collapsed buildings, and the pools of blood and entrails were infinite._

_But what appalled Allen the most was the figure on the path that was making his way closer and closer to the gruesome devastation; and, Allen was positive, to his doom. "Mana… Why is he going to a place like that? Mana!" Allen shouted, hoping to prevent him from reaching what he believed would be his demise. "I've got to get to him!" Allen desperately reached out._

_Suddenly, the dark hand that reflected Allen's own came to life, and sprung out abruptly from the waters and grasped his wrist, clutching it firmly. Allen gasped, shocked and confused. "**No**," an eerie voice echoed. Before Allen had a chance to question it, ice began to crawl across the lake at rapid speeds, concealing Mana from his view._

_"The water's freezing?!" Allen tried to desperately pull away. "Damn it, let go! MANA!"_

_But it was too late. The ice had already overtaken most of the lake, with the exception of a jagged opening from which the shadowed hand still gripped his. Allen inhaled sharply at the reflection his wide, silver eyes were met with. The murky figure was indistinct, fading in and out, but Allen was hard-pressed to forget that shadowy, mad grin and glowing, bright white eyes. _

_"**No**!" its ghostly voice resonated once more, before everything fell into a pitch black._

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of January 13th, 1896**

* * *

Allen rapidly shot up, face ashen and sweat clinging to his forehead. Inhaling short, gasps of breath, Allen attempted to calm down.

"Whoa there bud, are you okay?" an unfamiliar voice to Allen's right asked.

"Uh, yeah. Just a nightmare," Allen mumbled dazedly, glancing up, only to be met with the sight of the Rose Cross. Allen abruptly scrambled out the bed, stumbling slightly, before attempting to escape whatever it was that was going on.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" A mean figure blocked his path, slanted, gray eyes narrowing dangerously. Taking a small moment to actually think, Allen finally recalled what had occurred before all this madness. Right. The false battle with his Noah siblings and the Exorcists. Though it had technically failed after his freak accident, it seemed that he still somehow ended up in the care of these Exorcists. Allen decided Road and the twins must've left him with them rather than fighting, as doing that would have been pointless by then.

"S-Sorry," Allen murmured and stumbled back, still slightly baffled from his odd episode.

To his surprise, the Exorcist from earlier stepped in for him. "Oh, come on, Yuu, no need to be such an ass all the time. Can't you see he's confused?" The bright redhead seemed amiable enough, with his infectious grin and bright, mischievous emerald eyes—scratch that, eye. He wore an eye-patch over his presumably missing right one. To add to his interesting assemble, a bright, green bandana that contrasted greatly with his hair, held it up into a mess of spikes, revealing golden hoops along his ears. There was also his coat proclaiming him as an Exorcist, and a weirdly, small hammer strapped to his thigh. Hmm.

"I told you not to call me that, you idiot rabbit!" the other teen Exorcist snarled. Glancing back towards him, Allen decided this guy was even stranger looking. His dark, waist-length locks—and yes, Allen was pretty sure he was male—were pulled up into a high, ponytail, bangs and loose strands framing his sharp, pale features. The redhead decided that the scowl must be a permanent fixture on his face, though the katana that went with it seemed even less promising. "What are you fucking staring at, beansprout?" he suddenly sneered.

Before Allen could angrily retort back, yet another Exorcists stepped in. "Kanda, would you quit it?! He's hurt enough as it is!"

"_Hurt_?" both Allen and Kanda couldn't help but question. Kanda continued, "The brat started screaming before he was even impaled!"

"You should know better than that! We know Road likes to play mind games. We have no idea what she did to him!" Allen closely observed the female Exorcist that seemed vehement on defending him. For some odd reason, she'd struck him as familiar. The teenage girl was outfitted in a girlier version of an Exorcist uniform, which involved an extremely short skirt much to his embarrassment. Her lengthy tresses were pulled up into pigtails, and short bangs were framed around almond-shaped, violet eyes that slightly reminded him Road's.

"Lenalee?" Allen asked, wondering if this healthier looking girl could really be the feeble, pale-faced, little girl that had been burned into his mind once, long ago.

Her amethyst orbs immediately brightened. "Allen! I knew I recognized you!" Without any regard to personal space, she unexpectedly jumped into his arms, hugging him firmly and closely. Feeling slightly awkward, he hugged her back. At last, she pulled back and rewarded him with a dazzling smile and asked, "How have you been, Allen?"

"Ah, just peachy. What about you, Lenalee? How has the Order been treating you?"

Her eyes widened. "How do you know about us?"

"Err, you told me all about it when we last saw each other," Allen pointed out. He didn't mention the part where he was technically allied with the arch-nemesis of the Vatican and Black Order alike. That would probably be a bad idea. Yeah…

"I did?" Lenalee blushed, embarrassed. "I really wasn't supposed to do that."

"What does it matter now, Lenalee? He'll be joining us soon enough, anyway," Lavi piped up.

Lenalee glanced at Lavi, before turning back with wide, pleading eyes. "Please tell us you won't, Allen. Please tell us what the Noah said isn't true." Allen was truly touched by her concern, and so offered her a small, sad smile as he shook his head and slipped off one of his gloves, demonstrating his dark, mechanical hand. Her expression turned downcast.

"How long have you been running, Allen?" she whispered, gently his hand in between her own.

"Too long." _I never did try, but I should have._

"Are you alright?"

"Of course." _Will I ever be?_

"So, Lenalee," Lavi suddenly spoke up with a wide grin, throwing an arm around an unsuspecting Allen. "How _did_ you come to know our little Ally-kins here?"

"It's _Allen_," the redhead immediately retorted. "And I'm _not_ little."

"Aw, c'mon, mini-me, don't be such a grouse," Lavi teased him good naturedly.

"Err, pardon me?" Allen raised a brow, slight puzzled by the new nickname.

Lavi gazed back at him with a grin. "What?! Don't you get it? You're my mini-me! Get it? Because we both have wonderfully vivacious, red hair!" Lavi's single, visible eyebrow wiggled comically. Before Allen could even have a chance to respond to that, Lavi asked, "So? Aren't you two going to tell us the story of how you've met?"

Lenalee gazed pleadingly back at Allen, but the silver-eyed teen simply shrugged. It'd certainly be odd to tell his side of the story, though he could hardly remember the exact details even then. Knowing she was on her own, Lenalee took a deep breath and began, "Well, we met at a ball—"

"How romantic!" Lavi abruptly interrupted with a chortle.

"Wait a minute!" Kanda also spoke up in an incredulous tone. "You mean to tell me that this idiotic beansprout is your so-called "prince" that you kept going on about for weeks?!" Lavi's laughs turned boisterous as Lenalee turned a bright, crimson red.

"Kanda!" she scolded, too embarrassed to say any more.

"Uh, prince? What prince?" Allen furrowed his brows in confusion.

Through his raucous laughter, Lavi managed to splutter out, "_You_!"

"I'm sorry, Allen!" Lenalee abruptly apologized, before he could say anything. "At the time, Komui had told me that you were the Minister's son, and so I thought…"

Despite awkwardly trailing off, Allen understood her meaning well enough. Releasing a small, amused chuckle, Allen pointed out, "Lenalee, that may be true, but that hardly makes me a prince."

"I guess," Lenalee uneasily replied, still blushing from mortification.

"Ah, so we've got ourselves a little, pampered boy here, haven't we?" Lavi teased, though the mocking glint in his eye caused Allen to bristle at the accusation. His life had hardly been that! Admittedly, things were easier to come by once he'd joined the Noah, but they weren't exactly better. Lavi continued, "I say he survives at least a month. What do guys think?"

Kanda smirked viciously. "Two weeks, tops."

"You've got yourself a bet!" Lavi grinned.

"Would you two quit it?" Lenalee frowned in disapproval. "Try being a little more welcoming." Turning back to Allen, she offered him a kind smile, embarrassment forgotten. "Anyway, Allen, we're wondering—"

"You do realize he technically doesn't have a choice, right?" Lavi interjected, finally giving Allen his much needed, personal space by letting him go and backing up somewhat, casually crossing his arms behind his head.

"Yeah? Well it's a nice gesture, all the same," she retorted, crossing her arms defensively. "One which I doubt any of us have had the chance to have." Satisfied that neither male tried to further argue with her, she turned back to Allen with her sweet smile.

"Allen, would you do us the honor of joining us at the Black order?"

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**A/N: **So I'm thinking of showing different points of views in the next chapter; mostly Lavi and a little bit of Lenalee, and maybe even Kanda later on. What do you all think? Well, that's it for this chapter, so please review!n_n


	4. Ambivalent

**A/N: **I'm back for yet another update!(: In this chapter, I'll be depicting Allen's time in the Order with a nice variety of different points of views like I mentioned in my last author's note. I certainly hope you'll all like it, and thank you to **Ennael**, **KillerAkuma**, **FireFox Vixen**, and **Takei Daloui** for reviewing the last chapter!n_n I always love hearing from my readers!

Please enjoy!

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**Disclaimer****: **It's all fun and games until someone starts claiming whole fandoms for themselves… So I will disclaim this. At least, for the time being. *evil grin*

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Chapter 4

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**Time Frame — ****Night of January 17th, 1896**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Lavi~**

The new kid sure was strange. But it had taken less than the past couple days of train rides and walking on foot to allow Lavi to realize this. There really _was_ something peculiar about the younger red-headed boy that put the Bookman Junior on edge. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Lavi though that it might just be his complete ease. Don't get him wrong; the pipsqueak was attentive enough, especially when Kanda made any sort of move for his katana. But the younger boy had effortlessly joined them, as if he had no real care that he was being forced to join a secret war and would never be allowed to see his family again. Could it be that the shortstack was just ignorant?

"So what is it that you were doing so far from home, beansprout?" he asked with a teasing grin, as they walked further down the pathway, knowing how much the nickname irritated Allen after Kanda had dubbed him with it. They would be nearing Headquarters in about another hours time and Lavi figured he'd postponed his questions long enough, what with having to carefully observe him for the past couple days.

In turn, the short boy scowled in response to the nickname before giving him an odd glance, which Lavi easily deciphered. Why was he suddenly asking him this? After all, it had been days since they'd had their chance to quell their curiosity of him. Not that Kanda had wanted to know anything, and Lenalee had only been willing to venture as far as decorum would allow. Nonetheless, he answered sarcastically, "Gee, Lavi, I don't know. Maybe, I just found it a little difficult to stay home when I'm being hunted down by an insane family that has deemed it their priority to slaughter me."

His derisive remark hardly fazed the Bookman-in-training. Instead, he continued with his silly smile, "Aw, no need to be so snippy, Ally-kins~. But seriously, why would the Noah Clan be so determined to pursue a lone Exorcist? And three of them at once to boot!" Lavi peered down at him with an inquisitive gaze, causing the boy to squirm.

Surprisingly enough, this managed to gain Kanda's attention. Narrowing his eyes at the younger red-head, he roughly spoke up, "He's right, beansprout. What the hell are you not telling us?"

Allen squirmed for a moment, before he came to an abrupt stop and unexpectedly began to rake through his rucksack. Shoveling his bizarre umbrella and a couple articles of clothing aside, he finally pulled out a strange artifact. It was slightly filthy and scraped up, but all the same, the golden broadsword remained untarnished. Lavi gripped his own Innocence, along with his companions, in response at the feeling that resonated from the sword. Innocence. Allen held it out, allowing them a clear view while hesitantly speaking up. "They weren't only after me. I managed to locate Abaddon under my Master's orders, and unfortunately had a run-in with them before I could escape. I was actually supposed to bring this to Headquarters and stay in order to officially become an Exorcist." Lavi was about to ask who this supposed master was, and why simply obtaining a second piece of Innocence would earn him the wrath of the Noah. But Allen continued before he had the chance.

"To be honest, I think they're mostly after because they have some sort of grudge against my Master. Goodness, I hate that man," Allen groused, before putting the broadsword back in his bag as they resumed their trek.

"Allen, who's your master? Is it one of the Generals?" Lenalee was the first to ask.

In response, the squirt nodded. "Yeah, it's General Cross."

"Cross?! But we all believed the General to be dead!" the female Exorcist gasped.

Allen grimace. "Nope. He's alive and kicking alright. I've been apprenticed to him for about two years, but he's allowed me to keep in contact with my family. Said if I was sneaky about it, that I could continue to do so even after I formally joined."

Lavi didn't think this to be odd. A large number of members did this under the nose of the Supervisor well enough, and though many had been caught and sacked because of it, Lavi had yet to see a stop to it. There _was_ something that he _had_ noticed, though. His single eye briefly made contact with Kanda's, and the other's eyebrows rose as if asking, _Well? Is that all you've got on the idiot beansprout?_ Lavi momentarily grinned before his expression sobered. "You know, shortstack, it still doesn't make any sense. Why would the Noah suddenly halt their pursuit? Sure, we came into the picture, but you'd think that would only goad them on more; make it more entertaining for them in fact. Come to think of it, we haven't even been attacked by Akuma in days…"

When this was brought into perspective, both Lenalee and Kanda frowned along with him, while Allen simply seemed confused. This only furthered Lavi's suspicions. As Exorcists, they always carried their Innocence with them, along with the occasional extra piece they were recovering. Sooner or later, it was practically mandatory to simply attract Akuma, and with all four of them traveling together, along with the extra piece of Innocence Allen admitted to having, Lavi was hard-pressed to believe there wasn't something going on with their newest Exorcist when they hadn't even so much as encountered a Level 1.

Before he could think of anymore questions for the fidgeting beansprout, Lenalee butted in with a scolding glare. "Lavi, would you quit interrogating Allen as if he were the bad guy? We're just arriving, and we're trying to make him feel welcomed!"

Offering her a lazy smirk, he replied, "Alright, alright, Lenalee. No need to get your panties in a twist."

Before she could angrily retort, Lavi was saved by Allen's awed, "Whoa, this is the place?" The pipsqueak stared up in surprise at the menacing tower looming over them, surpassing even the clouds. Lavi couldn't help but widen his smirk when the younger boy shuddered slightly at the ominous atmosphere emanating around the castle. "It's not what I expected."

Lenalee giggled slightly, and Lavi piped up, "Yep! Well, have fun climbing to the top!" His mercury eyes practically popped out of their sockets at the thought of scaling the enormously jagged cliff.

"Lavi! Quit teasing him," Lenalee admonished him, albeit with an entertained smile, earlier anger thankfully forgotten. Turning to the shorter redhead, she reassured, "It's alright Allen, we'll be taking the elevator."

Allen nodded eagerly with a relieved smile, and Lavi was quite happy to burst that bubble for him. "Actually, Lenalee, on my last check-in with Komui, he was adamant about the shortstack going up to the entrance in order to get him scanned before we allowed him into the premises." Maybe it had something to do with the fact that an entertained smile was playing on his face, but seemed Lenalee herself found it adamant to place the blame on _him_, especially when he continued on to say "But of course, he said he'd allow his one and only, precious and adorable little sister to go up on the elevator and to not bother straining herself."

"Hmph. I see. Well then, I guess we'll see you at the top Lavi," Lenalee griped, before swiftly activating her Dark Boots and flying up in one quick motion, but not before grabbing a hold of both Allen and Kanda. His hilarity only grew when he heard the beansprout's shout of surprise.

Shaking his head in amusement, Lavi activated his own Innocence and simply rode to the top on its handle.

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**~Allen~**

Allen slightly stumbled along the path at first, disoriented from the abrupt flight Lenalee had taken him on.

"I'm so sorry, Allen!" Lenalee fussed over him with an apologetic expression.

"I-It's quite alright, Lenalee," Allen stuttered, and attempted to reassure her with a shaky smile, all the while ignoring the sneer Kanda threw in his direction. It wasn't just the flight that had unsettled Allen; but the last couple of days as well. The change in atmosphere had just been so brusque, it'd bewildered him. For one, unlike his family, these Exorcists didn't constantly make some joke or the other of committing some type of murder. He'd grown so used to it—or at least grown used to ignoring it—that having such innocent subjects to converse about had been somewhat enjoyable. Even so, Allen felt slightly uncomfortable around them.

He hadn't had to spend time with someone outside his Noah family for more than a polite and meaningless conversation, and was at a complete loss as to how he should be around them. The Earl had given him strict orders to gain their trust, and though he had believed at first that it would be fine as long as more people like Lavi and Lenalee were around, it'd fine. But it seemed he was wrong in that assumption; Lavi was _much_ more perceptive than he'd originally thought. It had shown Allen that despite his carefree act, there was much more lying underneath that playful grin.

Lavi had pointed out things that the others hadn't even thought to question, and in turn, had only made Kanda turn his suspicions on him as well. Allen was just relieved that the Maker had thought to give him a somewhat detailed back story, which was only supported by the knowledge that Lenalee already thought she had of him. He'd even told him to throw in that fib about being apprenticed to some General who thankfully hadn't shown up at the Order for years. Hopefully, Lenalee would find it challenging to remember anything that might have revealed any connection to the Noah and incriminate him. But she was just so optimistic and full of life—everything that had been lacking in that little girl—that he was hard pressed to believe she would. But he could only hope. After all, he'd only been a child and could hardly remember himself.

"Come on, Allen," Lenalee pulled him along once he had managed to orientate himself, following after Kanda who'd already gone ahead of them and was close to nearing the gate.

"Right," Allen managed a nod, and they both sped after him.

"Aw, aren't you going to wait for me?" Allen and Lenalee turned—Kanda didn't even bother—to see Lavi flying up above them, holding onto some sort of sleek, black rod, before it bent down next to them where it deposited Lavi. The tall red-head offered them a large smirk as the pole shrunk down into his miniature Iron Hammer which he strapped to his thigh with ease.

Giving him the cold-shoulder, Lenalee simply wrinkled her nose in distaste and sauntered off after Kanda.

"What's up with her?" Lavi scratched the back of his in mock confusion, though his smile hardly seemed appropriate.

Figuring that his suspicion of him had already grown to the point that Allen doubted he'd gain his favor by merely trying to befriend him, Allen thought it couldn't hurt anymore to simply to be brutally honest. Looking up at him with an irritated expression, Allen replied, "It's like you've told Kanda before. There's no need to be such an ass all the time, Lavi. And a bit of advice; you don't have to act like such an idiot to get people to like you. It's not working anyway." With a shrug accompanying his last statement, Allen began following after the others.

Lavi seemed unaffected by his reply as he casually strolled beside him. "Maybe. But people seemed to be more loose-tongued when they _think_ you're an idiot. Trust me, it's helped me more times than I count." Allen had no idea why Lavi was suddenly opening up to him in a way that he was sure he normally wouldn't do, but allowed him to continue nonetheless. "But let me give you a bit of my own advice, Allen. Having all the answers won't always turn the suspicion away. Sometimes, it'll only make it worse," Lavi whispered inconspicuously with a noticeable wink—or was it a blink?—just before they neared Lenalee and Kanda, who appeared to be conversing with one of the bat-like golems that permeated the night sky.

Allen was no more unsettled by Lavi than he was before. By this point, he figured that the older teen was someone who was not easily fooled, and even if he had been genuine, it was unlikely he would've gained his trust then. Whoever this Lavi character was, he wasn't sincere; and Allen suspected he'd been doing it for so long that he could pick out anyone trying to play his game. The short red-head decided he wouldn't bother. It's not like one suspecting Exorcists would deliberately ruin his image, especially when Lenalee seemed insistent on seeing the good in him. And even more so when the older red-head was busy playing his own game.

"Allen!" Lenalee turned to call to him with a friendly smile. "Come and stand over here, so that the Gatekeeper may give you a quick scan."

Returning her smile, Allen casually handed her his rucksack as he passed her by to take his designated spot. Thankfully, not even Lavi took much notice of his deliberate action. After all, if this scanner was able to detect Akuma, it would certainly be able to detect the Dark Matter the Earl had used in order to make and bring his golem Eira to life.

Allen tried not to jump when the enormous face of the Gatekeeper came to life and bellowed in a resonating voice, "**PREPARE FOR AN X-RAY, SO I CAN DETERMINE IF YOU ARE A HUMAN OR AKUMA!**" Its bulging eyes abruptly sparked into a pair of dazzling, shafts of light as it began to scan over his form. After a small, nerve wracking moment, it finally decided, "**SCAM COMPLETE! HE IS HUMAN!**" The Gatekeeper abruptly returned to its previous position, and it was over just like that. Allen released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Handing his rucksack over, Lenalee said with a smile, "Don't worry, Allen, that was about it. After this, Brother will simply take you to Hevlaska to have your Innocence checked over, and then you can retire for the night. In fact, we could all use a good night's rest."

"Amen to that, sister!" Lavi chuckled, and then released a small yawn as if to prove her point. Letting him know that he had still not been forgiven, Lenalee didn't bother sparing him a glance.

"Brother?" Allen asked, as they made their way inside, the gate closing behind them with a thunderous slam. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen took note of Lavi and Kanda leaving Lenalee the chore of taking care of him.

"Ah, yes, he's the Supervisor around here. In fact, you might even remember him attending the Christmas Ball!" Lenalee exclaimed excitedly.

Allen scrunched his face as he tried to think back on it. It was a bit vague, but… "Oh! Was it the really big guy that kept glaring at me?"

Lenalee burst into peals of laughter. "Yes! That definitely sounds like him!" Sobering slightly, she continued with a small smile, "Please, don't hold it against him though. I'm sure he was only looking out for me. He'd only just earned his position in order to join me here at the time, so he's always been protective."

_I can certainly remember why_, Allen thought dryly. But only answered with a small, "Of course."

Thankfully, his meeting with Komui and the shocking figure of Hevlaska didn't take long, and he was soon in his own room, thinking of Mana, the Exorcists, and how he really should make a report to the Earl soon.

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**~Lenalee~**

Lenalee was worried. In retrospect, it wasn't an astonishing reaction from her, but she honestly couldn't help but think of Allen and grow concerned each time she did. A little selfishly, Lenalee had actually been somewhat happy that he was joining them. He seemed like the type of friend Lenalee would love to have, and if she were to be honest with herself, she'd sometimes dreamed of meeting him once again; occasionally even envisioning them as more than just friends. But that was not the point!

Right now, she thought of him as her friend, and couldn't understand why he was acting the way he was. He'd been friendly enough when they were traveling to Headquarters, but after the night they'd arrived, he seemed to recluse himself from everyone and everything. Despite all her failed attempts, he continued to keep to himself as if he had suddenly changed his mind about their friendship. But what could have possibly caused such a reaction?

She had brought it up with both Kanda and Lavi, but Kanda had told her to mind her own business and Lavi had only seemed mildly curious before shrugging it off and telling her that he was probably just having a difficult time adjusting. She'd tried bringing it up with Allen, but just like every other time, he'd evaded her.

Well, no matter! She'd already forced Kanda and Lavi to agree into accompanying her into town for the sake of spending time with Allen, and she would not accept no for an answer!

"Gah! Kanda! _Help me_!" Lenalee suddenly heard the distinctive voice of Allen shout. With a quick burst of speed, Lenalee dashed into the dining hall, where she came face to with an enormous robot. Trying to take it all in at once, she noticed the cowering Finders in one corner, while Allen was being held up by the robot. In turn, Kanda was calmly sitting at table right in front of the dangling Allen, casually eating his soba. Before Lenalee could burst into action though, the robot took a wrong step, unintentionally stepping right on Kanda's lunch, and crushing it before his very eyes. Intentional or not, Kanda slid Mugen out in one swift motion and slit the machine into pieces with an irritated, "Che."

"_NOOO! MY DEAR KOMURIN! HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO YOU?!_" Lenalee blinked in shock, as she saw her brother come out of nowhere and burst into dramatic tears, weeping over the loss of his idiotic piece of junk.

Lenalee face-palmed. Hopefully Allen wouldn't be too put out, and would actually agree to her plans for once…

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**~Allen~**

Allen's thoughts had been too muddled to even think of what Lenalee had been trying to ask him at the time. Unfortunately, a short trip to the Hospital Wing later had Allen realizing that he'd agreed to accompany her into town, and was now, doing just that, along with Kanda and Lavi. This was the exact sort of interaction that he'd been hoping to avoid! It wasn't until his first night at Headquarters, after he'd reported to the Earl, that his eyes had been truly opened to the situation he was in. He was going to be the death of these people!

Okay, maybe that was a little too dramatic, but still, it pained him to think the sort of turmoil he could cause just by simply befriending them. He'd only been here for about two weeks and had already gone out on two different missions with some new Exorcists that he'd met, and they had taken quite a liking to him, just like Lenalee had, which only made him dread the consequences. How could it be this easy to fool these people?! They were hardened by the war, but some of them were just so gullible! Couldn't they see the mark over his head that practically screamed traitor?! Ugh, why did he ever think he could follow through with this…?

And the answer? He hadn't. All he'd known was that anything the Earl said, it goes. Why? Because he knew how important this was in order to protect Mana. The Noah may be out to destroy humanity, but he knew they also held a grudge against Mana after what happened with Neah, and wouldn't hesitate to go after him first. Fortunately, they had yet to know of his relation to him, and he would try to keep it that way, for as long as he could manage.

Still, he had no clue as to what to do. The Millenium Earl had said that he wanted him there for at least a couple months, and to get started as soon as possible. He wanted to cause complete chaos in the Black Order before he officially struck. Allen just wished he didn't have to be at the center of it.

"What's with the long face, Ally-kins?" Lavi nudged him with a teasing grin.

Allen grimaced. "I just don't see why I have to come along."

Throwing an arm around him, Lavi exclaimed, "I guess you just can't help that everyone else seems to think you're a likable guy."

"I could say the same for yourself," Allen grumbled; he'd noticed that Lavi wasn't always such a jerk and it seemed almost everyone considered themselves his friend, though he was sure Lavi thought differently. Whatever this Bookmen Clan was, Allen thought it might've been as bad as the Noah.

"Trust me, shortstack, it's probably just for the best," Lavi shrugged, though for once, his grin had dimmed somewhat.

Allen sighed. "I just wished they all weren't so oblivious." Allen thought that maybe Lavi had nodded with him in agreement, but it might've just been his imagination.

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**Time Frame — Afternoon of February 26th, 1896**

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The fourteen-year-old walked down the crowded lanes with an irritated huff. They'd only just arrived, and already Kanda had ditched him in order to complete the mission. Said some nonsense about holding him back and whatnot. In his defense, Allen had already been on a small number of missions, and had a good idea of how things worked. Kanda didn't need to be so unpleasant. Alas, it seemed that was practically his whole personality. Ultimately, Allen decided that if he was _that_ determined, then he could go off and bust his rear trying to complete some stupid mission. It's not like it was his priority, and he could do with a good break.

Pulling his Exorcist coat tighter against the chilly wind, Allen wished he could be back home. The Black Order was okay and all, but he was actually starting to miss his eccentric family, even if they _were_ manslaughtering fiends, as one of the Exorcists so eloquently put it. Ugh, this was all just so messed up. He couldn't logically think about all this without getting a headache in response. None of it made sense, because there _were_ no bad guys or good guys in his eyes.

On the one hand there was his family, that was strange and quirky, but also had an insane thirst to spill the blood of human beings. This greatly put off Allen, but after living with them for half his life, it was difficult to hold any sort of hate for them. And then there was the Black Order; those that had the guts to oppose the Millenium Earl, but were willing to go to any lengths to defeat him, whether they were moral or not. And in their case, a lot had certainly been immoral. Oh yes, Allen had already been shown some of the horrid experiments they'd conducted, by the Maker. Allen suspected that he had only shown him in order to dismiss any notions Allen might have had of wanting to switch sides.

_I just wish I could've stayed with Mana and out of this war_, Allen thought somberly. But hadn't Mana also been a part of it, once, long ago? _If he was able to escape it, then so can I! _Allen thought with new vigor. _Even if I have both the Noah and Innocence within me to deal with, I'll do it, just like my father…_

Feeling slightly reassured, Allen neared a tavern and began to plan a game of poker or two with a wicked smile. Even Tyki was no match for him, let alone a throng of uneducated drunks. Allen smirked darkly. But before he could even make it to the doorway of the shabby establishment, he was pulled into the alleyway beside it with a sharp yank.

Allen blinked in shock, as he came face to face with a towering, fiery-haired man that leered down at him in disgust. "Why, if it isn't my so-called apprentice that I've heard so much about."

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**A/N: **Haha, I'm sure we can all guess who that is. But worry not, all your questions will be answered in my next update!:D Please review my awesome readers!:3


	5. Perplexing Revelations

**A/N: **Yay! Another update!:D Thank you to **Cutiepie120048**, **Takei Daloui**, and **Guest** for dropping a review!(: Now you get to see Cross again, so I hope you enjoy.(x

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**Disclaimer****: **I neither own **D. Gray-Man** or the lyrics to the later song in this chapter.

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Chapter 5

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**Time Frame — ****Night of February 26th, 1896**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, punk?" the much larger General snarled in a low voice, keeping a hold of Allen in his vice grip. No matter how much he tried to squirm out of his grasp, Allen was no closer to escaping. How could this have happened?! For one, the General had supposedly run off, so how had he found him so quickly, even knowing the lies he'd allotted to the Order? Could it be that the General actually knew of his association with the Noah?! "Well?" the much taller red-head demanded with a ruthless glare.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Allen feebly lied, unsure of what he _could_ possibly say. What side was General Cross even on? He'd run off, doing who knows what, but Allen doubted he'd be in anyway sympathetic to his plight.

"You _know_ exactly what I'm talking about, brat. I've been looking for you for the last fucking seven years, and what the hell do I find out? That you're apparently some rich kid that I apprenticed two years ago and have now sent to the Order! You better tell me the fucking truth kid, before I obliterate you with my gun," Cross growled with a fierce look in his one visible, maroon eye. Allen managed to keep his relief at bay. So whatever information the General had managed to gain was from someone within the Order, meaning it was every lie Allen knew by heart.

As calmly as he could manage, Allen asked, "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well someone had to keep Mana from going out of his damned mind. Or at least what's left of it, anyway," the General scoffed, slightly loosening his grip on Allen once he seemed like he'd be willing to cooperate.

This instantly grabbed Allen's attention, but trying his hardest not to seem too eager, Allen asked, "Mana? Where is he?"

"Hm? Last time I checked, somewhere in northern France, though by now he's probably traveled back to England. But that's no longer any of your fucking concern, kid. How _much_ do you know?"

Allen filed the information away for later, and then gulped when the General's glower intensified. "K-know about what?"

"About all this crazy shit that's been going on for decades. I don't know why the hell you lost your memories, but if you suddenly began to remember, at least tell me why the fuck you ran off and why the hell you decided to join the Order."

Allen blinked for moment, trying to figure what the General was going on about. Lost memories? _Running off_? He'd been kidnapped! But there was clearly something else at large here. How did this Cross even know Mana in the first place? Recalling what Road had once told him, he suddenly remembered that Cross had been part of whatever this renegade group that Neah and Mana had joined. But that still didn't explain why Cross pretended as if there was more to all this. As if Allen played some larger role.

In the meantime though, he'd do his best to play along and attempt to make him divulge as much information as possible. Narrowing his eyes, Allen asked fiercely, "What _else_ did you expect me to do?"

"Cut the crap, _Allen_," Cross sneered. "You know you're done for, so I don't know what the hell you're trying to prove. This was _your_ fucking decision! Live up to it, because either way, you _know_ you're a goner."

If the General's previous comments hadn't confused Allen, these ones definitely did. What could he possibly _mean_? Allen was unsure of how to proceed, but then decided that stating the obvious was the best way to go. With a small frown, Allen pointed out, "I'm not a goner yet."

Cross faltered for a moment, as if the statement were a slap to the face, but then swiftly shook it off. "Like that fucking matters! It's too late now; you already made your choice when you made that foolish promise to Neah! I just hope that when he takes over your fucking body and kills you, that you won't regret it!" Shoving him roughly aside, General Cross stormed out of the alleyway, leaving the young, shaken Allen all alone.

By the time he thought to check, the General was already long gone.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 3rd, 1896**

* * *

"_Allen~! Allen, are you there? Yoo-hoo~! Allen~!_"

Glancing up from where he was lounging on his bed, Allen noticed the voice coming from his rucksack—which he'd never bothered unpacking—which was placed on his nightstand. Sitting up and leaning over, he grabbed a hold of his golem/umbrella Eira. Though it was Eira's voice that was speaking, by the tone of speech, Allen could tell that it was probably Road talking through Lero, and in turn, Eira. It had become a habit for Road to contact him when she grew bored, but had thankfully managed to evade getting in touch whenever he was on a mission. Allen was forced to bring his golem everywhere, just in case of emergencies, and had received enough grief over the ridiculousness of the object from the other Exorcists.

Bringing his golem close enough so that he could be heard, Allen finally interrupted Road's rambling. "I'm here, Road. How's it going?"

"_Allen! Finally! Guess what~!_" Road giggled. It was creepy how well Eira was able to imitate it. Allen was just grateful that his golem wasn't forced to reiterate her name at the end of all of Road's sentences.

Knowing that Road truly meant it when she asked him to guess, Allen took a moment to come up with some preposterous idea, before asking, "Hmm… Did the twins finally manage to prank Millenie and Tyki into joining that ballet dance class for six-year-old girls?"

Road erupted into boisterous laughter before managing to say, "_Even better! You're temporarily coming home, Allen!_"

The russet-haired boy sat up in surprise. "What?! Are you being serious, Road? What's the special occasion?"

"_Actually, Allen, it's something that Millenie has wanted to try for quite a while. We were originally going to wait until Neah awakened, but that Cross has been coming far too close for comfort._" Allen winced slightly, at the mention of Neah. Ever since his confrontation with Cross, it was _all_ he could think about. It was all just so confusing!

Before Road could elaborate, Allen quickly interjected, "Road? Can I ask you something?"

"_Of course, Allen!_" Road promptly replied in a cheery voice. Allen paused for a moment before he began in a small voice.

"When the Noah inside me awakens, what's going to happen Road? Will I become a Noah like the rest of you, or will this Neah person take over my body while I cease to exist?"

Road stayed silent for a while and then hesitantly replied, "_Honestly, Allen? We can't really be sure. Neah was after all, the first reincarnation of the 14th. The Noah have been reincarnating for centuries. When Millenie began his desperate search after he realized that many of the Noah were beginning to reincarnate already, he felt his Will inside of you, but we're not completely positive on what this could mean, because that's not the regular method of how Noah reincarnate. Millenie doesn't actually know when a Noah has reincarnated until the Noah itself has actually awoken._"

"What does the mean?" Allen frowned.

"_Allen, it means that someone purposely planted the Will of the Musician inside of you,_" Road explained in a somber voice.

_This was _your _fucking decision!_

It's what Cross had said, and with a dreaded feeling at the pit of his stomach, Allen was beginning to believe that maybe he was right. With a small sigh, Allen stated, "So Neah _will_ take over."

"_We don't _know_ that yet, Allen,_" Road insisted. "_We could be wrong. We'll just have to wait it out and see, alright?_"

"Alright," the silver-eyed teen reluctantly agreed.

"_I don't want to lose you too, Allen,_" Road suddenly said in a small voice.

Allen paused, before pointing out, "But you'll have Neah back."

"_Not really. I lost Neah the day he slaughtered us all. He might be back, and I won't ever stop loving him, but I don't think I'll ever really be able look at him the same way again._" She dwelled on that thought for a moment, before saying, "_And I love you too, Allen. Don't forget that._"

Allen chuckled, feeling slightly better. "Of course, Road. You know I love you too." They stayed comfortably silent for a bit, before Allen recalled, "And what was it that Millenie needed me to do?"

"_Oh, yes! We need to position the Ark in a new location. All we need you to do is to play the song of the 14th. It's what Neah used to lock in where the Ark is placed, and though it was never a problem before, that General seems to be searching for it. The only other method is to completely destroy this Ark and reprogram a new one, and that takes a little more work, so we thought we'd try this out first. What do you say? Are you up for it, Allen?_" Road asked after her long-winded explanation.

"Err, yeah. Just one problem; I have no idea what the song of the 14th is," Allen pointed out sheepishly.

"_That's fine! We managed to salvage a copy of the Score, but Millenie and I can't make headway of it, so it'll be up to you to figure it out,_" Road responded.

Allen nodded in slight nervousness, though she couldn't see him. "Ah, alright then."

"_Great! I'll be there to pick you up in a jiffy!_" Road exclaimed enthusiastically.

Before Allen could question on how she was planning to do that, Eira exclaimed, "Connection severed, Eira~!"

"Um, right. Thanks Eira," Allen said, slightly exasperated at Road's antics.

"Master Allen, I'm tired, Eira~. May I rest now, Eira~?" Eira moan exhaustedly.

A little amused by her dramatics, Allen simply nodded with a, "Of course, Eira." He then tucked her back into his rucksack with his clothes. Not a moment later, Road's dazzling, heart-shaped door materialized before his bed, and out stepped Road.

"Come one, Allen! There's no time to waste!" Road declared, and swiftly pulled him along before Allen had a chance to react.

* * *

Many different emotions engulfed Allen in that moment, as he sadly stared at the Musician's Score. So Mana _had_ been a part of it as well, hadn't he? It had never even occurred to Allen who could've planted the Will inside of him, but now it suddenly made so much sense, because it was Mana who had taught him these symbols. It had been their secret language. Allen had thought it was special, but it was all just a lie, wasn't it?

_This was _your _fucking decision!_

And it always came back to that. Had Mana just been doing as he wished? Allen desperately wished he could remember what it was that he had forgotten. Cross had said that it was a promise to Neah that he had made, but it didn't make sense, because when he'd asked Road, she'd said that all this had happened almost 35 years ago. He hadn't even been alive back then! … Right?

A sudden touch to his arm snapped him out of his reverie. "Allen, are you alright?" Road frowned in concern.

Shaking away his muddled thoughts, Allen tried to smile in reassurance and said, "I recognize it. I've never really played piano, but I have a distinct feeling that I'm about to learn how to." Road nodded, and hesitantly Allen asked, "Road, would you mind giving me some time to myself?"

"Of course," Road nodded in understanding. "I'll be with Millenie up in the Control Room. Just play whenever you're ready, and Millenie will take care of everything, alright?" When she received a nod, Road quietly slipped out of the Musician's room with a small click of the door shutting.

Allen sighed softly as he stared at the Score, before he noticed a small movement out of the corner of his eye. Curiously glancing up, and looking for any excuse to distract himself, Allen stared at the mirror, only to end up tumbling off of the bench beside the luminescent baby grand piano, in shock. Unnerved, Allen once again gazed back, only to be met with the image that had come straight out of his nightmares; literally. Rather than his own reflection on the mirror, there was a black, swirling humanoid figure, as if it had trouble deciding what shape it wanted to take. It was outfitted in white, formal attire, though it was hardly noticeable when you were met with that crazed grin, and mad, glowing eyes.

With a slight tremble, Allen came to the conclusion that it must the Noah within him.

"Neah," Allen murmured.

If possible, its grin grew all the wider. It gazed at him for a moment, before pointedly glancing back at the piano. Recalling what he needed to do, Allen hesitated for only a small, sad moment before placing his fingers atop the onyx keys. Gazing at the Score carefully, Allen effortlessly began to play as if he had been doing so his whole life. A sweet, dulcet melody leisurely came to life, deliberately becoming more intricate as multitudes of resonating keys merged to create a heartrending lullaby. As if they had been there all along, gentle lyrics poured out of Allen's lips, harmonizing perfectly with the song.

_~Oh so quietly, the little boy falls fast asleep  
Amongst the candles, flickering so gently  
Ashes fall, first one, then two._

_All the faces of the people who lived within this life  
A thousand dreams, each one brings, drifting in twilight  
All rains down, back home._

_The silver eyes, crying, tears falling on that one night  
The light in you was born, shining brighter than the sun  
A million years may pass, we only ask one thing  
All our prayers  
Have been answered?  
And returned to us back to earth._

_Even so I will continue to pray on  
Hold this boy so close  
Show him what love is…  
Two hands sealed together with one kiss.~_

Allen lingered on the last word as his hands flew gently across the keys, performing an elaborate interlude between lyrics, the soul wrenching music seeping into the depths of his heart as he reflected back on his fading memories of Mana. Mana had been everything to him, but he no longer comprehended where it was that they stood now. If only he could find him now… Once again, Allen sang, repeating each of the of the sweet words in his low, gentle voice, holding the last note a smidgen longer than the rest before allowing the melody to fade at his fingertips. The silence was penetrating.

"Allen! Good job!" Road suddenly skipped into the room with a beam lighting up her face.

"Thank you," Allen nodded, trying to push all somber thoughts to the back of his mind, allowing her to lead him out of the Musician's room, and stroll along the pearly walkways of the luminescent city.

The ash-skinned girl sighed. "I wish you could stay longer Allen, but it's already morning, and you're bound to be missed."

"That's alright, Road," Allen offered her a reassuring smile. "How is everyone?"

"Ah, you know, doing the same old thing, though I _do_ think the twins are actually starting to miss you," Road snickered.

"More like they miss having someone to fight with," the red-head scoffed, shaking his head in exasperation. He then suggested, "By the way, you probably shouldn't open up your door inside of Headquarters again. If anybody's looking for me, I'd rather you not get caught."

Road frowned. "Are you sure? Where would you want me leave you, then?"

"Just somewhere on the outskirts," Allen shrugged, figuring he could find his way back, what with the tower being located on an enormous cliff. If he couldn't find his way there, than his sense of direction would be even more hopeless than he'd originally thought. Road agreed easily enough, and once Allen stepped out of her bright, checkered door, he found himself in a thick, dense forest. It was so impenetrable, in fact, that the sky was completely obscured, hardly any rays of light managing to seep through the thick foliage. Indeed, he was starting to grow somewhat claustrophobic with shrubbery and plant life crowding in around him.

"Err, Road? Where _are_ we?" Allen attempted to push some of the undergrowth aside, but only ended up pricking himself with a sharp thorn. "Ouch!"

The female Noah huffed, "Well, what did you expect? I don't exactly know my way around here, Allen."

Allen moaned in despair. "I'll never find my way out!"

"Alright, alright! You _did_ have a point about the possibility of being caught if I took you straight to the Order, though, and _I_ can't guide you through this…" Road trailed off before deciding, "So then I guess I'll just give you someone who _can_!" Closing her eyes in concentration, it only took but a moment for an armored, humanoid figure to appear beside them, startling the red-headed teen.

"You called, Mistress Road?" the Level 3 grinned viciously, razor sharp teeth gleaming.

"Yes," Road replied briskly. "Akuma, I need you to lead Allen out of this forest. I'm sure you noticed a cliff on your way here? Take him there, and make sure to be discreet about it. The last thing we need is to cause pandemonium at the Exorcist Headquarters." At this, Road curled her lips into a wicked smirk of her own. "The Earl has much bigger plans for them."

The Akuma seemed put out by Road's tedious orders, but his smirk seemed to grow all the more sinister in anticipation of the Maker's plans. "As you wish, Mistress Road." Once the female Noah vanished along with her door, the Akuma turned to him and nodded respectfully, "Master Allen." It was something that the Earl had programmed into all the Akuma, so that they would be forced to follow his orders as well, though he was unable to call them to his location in the same manner as Road.

The trek through the foliage was fortunately not too lengthy; it was only about an hour or so of walking, and the Akuma had made it easier by cutting a straight path through the shrubbery. When Allen finally managed to stumble out into the bright open, coming face to with the jagged cliff face, the Akuma bowed down to him this time, once again acknowledging him with a, "Master Allen."

Allen never did notice the conveniently passing Exorcist and her handy golem.

* * *

**Time Frame — Noon of March 4th, 1896**

* * *

Allen rubbed at his aching eyes, the lack of sleep from the night before finally beginning to catch up to him. But his ravenous hunger was just as prominent. Maybe he could take a nap after a fulfilling lunch? Heading to the dining hall with a new goal set in mind, Allen was just about to reach his destination when he was, much to his frustration, halted in his tracks.

"Allen! Allen!" Lenalee rushed towards him at full speed from the other side of the hall, just barely managing to stop in her tracks before she could topple into him.

"Err, some the matter, Lenalee?" Allen raised a curious eyebrow, though he was truly more interested in getting something to eat.

"Allen," she gasped and then demanded, "What's going on?!"

Allen took a step back, startled by her outburst. "Um, I could ask you the same thing…"

"Did you not know?" Lenalee gave him a searching gaze, and when he simply shook his head, she elaborated, "You've been accused of treason by the new Exorcist!"

"We have a new Exorcist?" Allen asked, before it fully hit him. "Wait! What?! What do you mean, I've been accused of treason?!" This was the whole reason as to why he's tried to keep Road from bringing him back herself. What on earth could have given them the idea that he was a traitor?! And by a newbie, no less!

"Representatives from the Vatican are already on their way here! It actually shouldn't be too long before they arrive," Lenalee explained frantically. "They'll be holding a trial for you _tonight_."

"A _trial_? _Tonight_?" Allen asked incredulously.

Lenalee nodded and nervously bit her lip. "I'm sorry Allen, but the evidence _does_ seem pretty incriminating."

Allen was met with her pleading gaze, and he briefly wondered why she was so desperate to cling to the hope that he was innocent. He then shrugged it off. That was the least of his worries. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. I'm sure they'll detain me soon enough, so I have to take care of something real quick."

Turning away from her, he began to head in a different direction, only to be pulled back by a hand on his forearm. Glancing back, he was met with her beseeching stare as she begged, "Allen, please tell me they're wrong."

He smiled gently at her. "You always _did_ seem like the type to look for the best in people." Allen slipped out of her grasp and hurried away, back to his own room. Swiftly bursting inside, Allen made a grab for his golem/umbrella, and quickly commanded, "Eira! Link up with Lero!"

"Connection asserted, Eira~!" the female-like golem immediately did as told.

Desperately hoping she was near, Allen spoke, "Road? Road?! Are you there?"

"_Yes! Yes! What's the matter, Allen?_" Though she seemed slightly exasperated, a slight tone of worry colored her voice.

Speaking swiftly, Allen began to explain, "Someone has got evidence of me possibly being a traitor, and they're holding a trial tonight! I'm sure they'll be here to restrain me soon, but I need to know if there's anything I need to do. Do I continue my façade; reveal the truth; destroy the evidence?! I really don't have a clue as to how I'm going to get myself out of this one, Road!"

"_Alright, calm down, Allen! Let me a have a quick word with Millenie, and I'll let you know!_" The five minutes that she was gone, were probably the longest of Allen's life. Any moment he expected someone to burst through his door demanding answers. Fortunately, she was back before any such thing could occur. "_Allen, Millenie suggests that we might as well reveal you now; you've been there long enough, and causing a spectacle of your betrayal seems like the best way to go. He also says that he was planning on pulling you out soon anyway, because he can feel your Noah very close to awakening._"

That stopped Allen dead on his tracks. Was it really that close? Attempting to unsuccessfully shrug it off, Allen instead asked, "What am I supposed to do after I do reveal myself though?"

"_He says that he'll have a good number of Akuma infiltrate the place, and will have them attack at _your_ command. He'll also send in Lulubell in disguise just in case things get out of hand. Don't worry Allen, we'll help you get through this,_" she reassured him.

Just then, Allen heard heavily thumping footsteps nearing his door with an ominous intent. Trying to shake off the dread, Allen whispered, "They're here for me, Road. Eira, sever connection!"

"Connection severed, Eira~!" Eira quickly responded before purposely falling limp in his hands, just as the door to his room was knocked down with a jarring slam.

"Halt, Exorcist! You are under arrest under the decree of the Vatican for alleged treason!" Cloaked figures surrounded him, and Allen surrendered with unease as they forcefully secured him, binding his Innocence with their spells, and leading him down to the awaiting dungeons.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 4th, 1896**

* * *

**~Kanda~**

Kanda was irritated. Well, at least more than usual, in any case. Honestly, it was hard to believe that they were making such a hassle over the wimpy beansprout! And like hell he wanted to actually be part of this ludicrous trial, but Lenalee was so adamant, and it was hard to deny her; even if he did want to vomit over her passionate speech about being there for their friends and some bullshit. Him? Friends with the beansprout?! When hell froze over! Unfortunately, his reluctance hadn't stopped her from dragging him here, and now he was being forced to listen to some shitty trial.

From what he could gather from that damned Miranda woman—the same one he had the misfortune to find on one of his missions—she had been given some new prototype golem that was able to record images—why the hell would they give something like that to _her_, of all people?!—and had apparently caught the idiotic beansprout with what appeared to be a Level 3 Akuma. Kanda didn't really see why the fuck it mattered. So what if the damned thing had apparently bowed to him? For all they knew, it could've just caught whatever disease the dumb beansprout had on him!

Why was this taking _so_ damned long?!

His glower becoming all the more fierce, Kanda began to sharpen his katana in aggravation, for the lack of anything better to do in the stuffy room. He received multiple glares for the distraction, but they were soon put in their place when met with Kanda's intimidating snarl. There. Now no one would bother him and he could whatever the hell he wanted. Leaning back against the wall in which he'd decided he'd rather stay, as opposed to sitting smack dab in the middle of a crowd of stuffy morons, Kanda wished he could be in his training room hacking something up or even just meditating. The latter sounded good. He was beginning to feel restless with all these stupid Vatican officials surrounding him.

Gazing around, Kanda noticed the fidgeting beansprout upfront, and smirked in malicious satisfaction. Stupid beansprout deserved it! He was just as much at fault here as that idiotic Miranda woman. Kanda scoffed. What hell had he been thinking doing what he did? Kanda would forever view him as a wimpy beansprout, so he really had no idea what the shorty was attempting to prove. All it had done was land him in this mess, dragging Kanda along with him.

After a moment of thought, Kanda's smirk widened, as he contemplated inviting the beansprout to become his sparring partner. Waste of his skills, sure, but it would be a healthy dose of revenge Kanda was willing to deal out. The beansprout should be grateful that he wasn't going for worse. Though an outsider does have to wonder what could be worse than bodily harm by your supposed "friend".

Those near the Asian Exorcist shivered at the sinister aura the emanated from him, as further thoughts of revenge filled his mind.

Kanda then noticed that the beansprout had been brought forth, being asked to plead innocent or guilty. Normally, Kanda would have continued to ignore this, if it hadn't been for the abrupt change in the beansprout's demeanor. He had suddenly straightened up from his dejected slump, casually throwing his shoulders back and curiously tilting his head up at the judge, a lazy smirk permeating his lips.

"Innocent, sir? Who the hell asks a Noah if he was ever a damned innocent?"

* * *

**A/N: **Ooooh, Allen's being sassy!(x Haha, I hope you liked the chapter and please review!(:


	6. Chaos

**A/N: **Ahh, I'm sorry for the delay everyone! I know it's been two months since my last update, so I apologize! I just got caught up with one of my other fics, but I'm back. Well, at least for now.(x Haha, but thank you to **1Anime2Freak**, **Takei Daloui**, **Ennael**, **chuchay1903**, **taiShafie**, **D. P. Master01**, **author12306**, **RaNDoem**, **NuclearCrow**, **Kyla**, and **Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad** for all reviewing my last chapter!(: I sure am happy you were all so excited for this next chapter, and I definitely hope this won't disappoint any of you. Haha, it's a little daunting sometimes, when people have good expectations of you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!^-^

* * *

**Disclaimer****: **Nope! Big time no! Never will I ever own **D. Gray-Man**, no matter how much I beg, whine, or wish~! Seriously, it's depressing having to say this all the time… But worry not, the day shall come… Muahahahaha! *hack, cough, hack* Err, right, anyway…

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

**Time Frame — ****Night of March 4th, 1896**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

"Innocent, sir? Who the hell asks a Noah if he was ever a damned innocent?" Allen carefully observed the reactions of those surrounding him. If he weren't feeling so agitated about being constrained and vulnerable, he might've been amused with the varying reactions by those attending his trial. Some scoffed, believing him to be bluffing—though those were very few—others didn't seem to even comprehend what he'd said, eyes wide with confusion, and then there were those who'd taken it to heart and had already backed away, wary and frightened.

"I-I beg your pardon?!" the judge stuttered, perspiration suddenly shining along his forehead, unable to fully comprehend Allen's words.

Allen puckered his own eyebrows in puzzlement. "Oh? Did you not understand me, sir? I just implicated that I was a Noah. I do hope that I won't have to repeat myself." If it were possible, the judge began to quake all the more. "But seeing as that is punishable by death, I don't think sticking around this place any longer would be a very wise idea, would it sir?" Amusingly enough, the judge actually _agreed_ with him, nodding shakily. Holding back a chuckle, Allen continued, "Well, then I guess that's my cue… Akuma! Attack!"

Shrieks erupted throughout the room as unexpected bystanders ruptured their human skin with sickening snaps to burst forth as Akuma. Hordes of Level 1s and 2s pervaded the room, wasting not a single second to discharge torrents of their Blood Bullets upon all that withstood them. The Exorcists that had decided to attend, immediately leaped in, but not before many had already succumbed to the virus, their ashes grimly dusting all available space, while a single Level 3 plunged straight for Allen, tearing and demolishing the spell and chains that had been constricting him.

Allen instantaneously vaulted, purposely losing himself in the bedlam of shrieks and cries. Bolting in the direction of the doorways, Allen began pushing his way through the constant mayhem that surrounded him, when unexpectedly, someone shoved a bag into his hands. Glancing up in bewilderment, Allen was met with the sight of a noncommittal scientist, whose shredded clothing revealed the many Blood Bullets that had already struck him. Despite this though, he was perfectly fine, and as Allen stared at him in puzzlement, his eyes swiftly flashed gold. Lulubell.

Before he knew it though, Lulubell's disguised form had already vanished from his sight.

"Master Allen, Eira~! We must leave at once, Eira~!" Eira wailed from within his rucksack, startling him out of his stupor. Allen instantly hurried and continued his chaotic trek, but just as the red-head was about to make his exit, a call in his direction made him pause.

"Beansprout!" Going against all the thoughts that screamed at him to escape, he turned, and through the frenzied crowds, managed to make out the tall form of Lavi. Rather than looking angry, hurt, or even confused, Lavi simply held an impassive expression, staring at him somewhat inquisitively as he lazily swatted aside any incoming Akuma, simultaneously heading his way. Allen merely shook his head sadly in reply to his call, but before he could continue his getaway, an unexpected agony made its presence known.

"Wha…?" Allen mumbled, slightly dazed and uncertain. Gazing down, he vaguely noticed the shining metal of a sword piercing his side, flesh and blood coating it in slick trails. Slowly collapsing to his knees, the full pain hit Allen with a shock, as the sword roughly slid back out of his body, the copious amount of blood gushing out making him feel faint.

"Fucking traitor," Kanda spat from behind him.

Through the ardent throbbing the pulsed throughout his body and burned at his core, Allen's dull, mercury orbs made contact with Lulubell's—when had she shed her disguise?—in the distance.

"Damn! He's got back up!"

"Yes, Yuu, it certainly was hard-pressing to notice the mass of Akuma invading us!"

"I meant the fucking Noah that's head our way, you dumb-shit!"

"Aw hell!"

Weakly coughing up a splattering of fresh blood, Allen resolutely held onto his blazing side, knowing that losing anymore blood would be detrimental. Attempting to rise back up, his shaky limbs were suddenly held up before he could stumble any further.

"Master," the Level 3 Akuma acknowledged him, dropping a roll of bandages into Allen's trembling hands. Allen came to the conclusion that Lulubell must have sent him, while she took care of the Exorcists. Fortunately, the Akuma stuck around to help him stand as he clumsily wrapped the bandages about his torso. The young red-head had absolutely not a clue on treating wounds this critical, but he did his best to tightly swathe them about his injury through the thick, haze of pain that clouded his mind.

Once he finished off, the Akuma swiftly led him out. In no time, Allen was left on his own, stumbling out and eventually making his long-awaited escape from the Black Order.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 7th, 1896**

* * *

It wasn't until three nights later—when Allen was lost somewhere in Britain, having stopped at a hospital to get his wound properly treated and then taking off in the middle of the night, boarding various train rides, only to then continue running on his own despite his severe wound—that an astonishing thought occurred to him. Glancing around the nearly vacant streets, Allen realized that he was alone. And not just the, 'I need a break, so maybe I'll be back later' alone, but the truly 'Not surrounded by Noah, Exorcists, and the like' alone. And suddenly, it was like the weight of a heavy rock lifting off of his shoulders. Feeling lighter than he ever had, Allen glanced around with a bewildered expression, a small chuckle slipping out before he began to shake with laughter, the burning agony in his side hardly fazing him.

He was _free_!

Sure he had come to grow to love his family, but his freedom had pervaded his mind for the longest time, that the unexpectedness of it was so liberating and flabbergasting all at once. Still chuckling, Allen gazed about once again, but this time with renewed fervor. Promptly digging into his rucksack, Allen snagged Eira out at once and with a wild grin of exhilaration, and said, "Eira! Isn't this great? I'm finally alone!"

"Um, of course, Master Allen, Eira~?" Eira blinked, slightly astonished—a sharp contrast from her usual gloominess—and though her response had sounded unsure, it didn't faze Allen one bit.

Nodding, Allen asked eagerly, "Right, so I need you to do a favor for me, Eira. Can you do that?" Receiving a nod, the keen red-head continued, "Okay, I need you to hinder any connections Lero tries to make with you, as well as prevent any messages from reaching you, alright?"

"Yes, Master Allen, Eira~!" Eira agreed, relieved to have received an order. Those, she could handle better, as opposed to enthusiastic humans trying to converse with her.

Too elated to take much more notice of his surroundings, Allen abruptly turned in order to search for a place to sleep, unexpectedly bumping into someone. Hastily backing away with a pained wince, Allen apologized, "Ah, I'm sorry, sir! I didn't see you the—…" Brusquely trailing off, he stared at the strangely familiar figure, baffled.

"Mana?"

* * *

**~Mana~**

"Mana?"

At the sound of his name, Mana inquisitively glanced down at the odd, red-headed boy that gazed at him in bewilderment. What a strange lad. Nostalgia filled Mana in that moment, as he recalled a similar boy that had also gazed at him in such a way whenever he said something silly. Maybe this was the same boy? It was tricky to recall when all the faces from his past memories began to merge and fade into one anoth—but this one had such brilliant coppery hair! Though… Neah's hadn't been nearly as bright… Or had it? Who was the other red-head he'd known—oh yes! Maybe it was that obnoxious Cross he'd called friend. Ah, but it had been such a long time since any of his friends had visited him. Was Neah ever going to remember him…?

Wait! Now he remembered!

"Ah, yes! Allen, right?" Mana recalled with a snap of his fingers, slightly adjusting the sack he shouldered that held his clown garb. Maybe Allen would like to see a performance?

"_MANA!_" the boy abruptly cried out before launching himself into Mana's arms. Mana glanced down curiously at him. No one had ever been this enthusiastic to see him—but wait, why was this scene so familiar to him? Hmm… Oh, hadn't he taken a boy from the circus who looked similar to this one? Yes, yes. Though the memories were a bit fuzzy, he certainly recalled planting the 14th's Will inside this boy a very long time ago. But why would he choose a random street urchin to hold the beloved memories of Neah? Oh, yes—this boy was Allen! But, Allen was his friend, was he not? Why would he be friends with a little boy—but could it be that Neah had already taken over? Had his brother finally come back to him?

"Mana," the boy cried into his chest. "It's me, Allen. I've finally come home."

Oh. So it was not Neah. But maybe it wasn't so bad—Allen had been rather a nice boy, hadn't he? Yes, he had been very helpful, so maybe having him back wouldn't be so bad —and maybe Neah would come back to him soon!

Holding him close, Mana replied with a gentle smile, "Welcome back, Allen."

_And soon, I'll welcome you too, little brother._

* * *

**~Allen~**

_Ba-dump._

The pounding increased in his head, as if something were trying to hammer its way out.

_Ba-dump._

It punctured its way through, splitting and cracking his skull. A blurred figure appeared, but the blood spilling and seeping into his eyes obscured them.

_Ba-dump._

"Mana?" Allen whimpered, gritting his teeth as vile wraiths coursed throughout his twitching body, and pierced his soul.

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

Mana's eyes widened, his face becoming ashen, before whispering, "Neah?"

And so, Allen fled.

* * *

**~Neah~**

Lazily blinking his liquid gold eyes open, Neah's ash-colored fingers twitched, the familiar urge to slaughter and tear apart human lives, to feel hot blood ooze down his hands while their eyes dimmed and their bodies became limp, return like an old, unwelcomed friend. His lips curled into a sneer, as he easily sat up on the bed—the wound on his abdomen having healed in the process of the transformation—disregarding the pounding headache caused by the stubborn boy who refused to release control without a fight.

"Neah~," someone whispered from across the room, and his eyes flitted up, observing the Millenium Earl with unconcealed distaste.

He smiled mockingly, paying no mind to the tears flowing down the Maker's face, whose own molten eyes revealed a combination of sorrow and lunacy so great, it disgusted the younger Noah. "Adam."

"Welcome back, son~," the Millenium Earl grinned, tears still spilling down.

"Don't _call_ me that!" Neah snarled, jumping to his feet, the unfulfilled bloodlust making itself known in every pore of his body, itching to destroy and extinguish; to kill, kill, _kill_!

But as he advanced, intentions clear, the room was suddenly flooded by all the other Noah, creating a protective barrier around the 1st Apostle before he could get any closer. Neah paused, the sudden disruption slightly clearing his head, but he didn't back down from his aggressive stance, knowing he could kill them as easily as he had last time.

"Don't bother," Road sneered back, flawlessly holding back any emotions Neah's awakening might have brought out within her. "Not if you want your _brother_ to live."

Neah's whole façade crumbled, as he stumbled back, shocked, before growling, "What have you done with Mana?!"

"Nothing, of course," another Noah drawled, and swiftly pulling and picking through Allen's memories, Neah concluded him to be Tyki. "It _would_ defeat the whole purpose of getting you to cooperate."

"What the hell do you want then?" Neah spat.

The Millenium Earl stepped forward, ignoring protests from the rest of the clan. "Join us, Neah~. Return to us, to _our_ side~." _Return_ _to_ my _side_. Neah got the message loud and clear, but before he could make a snarky remark, the Maker continued in a much more sinister voice that still held that musical undertone, glasses flashing ominously under the sharp lighting, "And we shall spare Mana from ultimate death~."

Features morphing into yet another ugly sneer—it was amusing how the action unsettled them all, as it was Allen's once innocent face that he was wearing—he replied, "Fine, I'll follow along your absurd little play for now, but I want to see my brother."

With a triumphant grin, the Earl said, "All in good time, my dear Neah~. For now, I want to test your supposed loyalty; make sure any of those traitorous thoughts I know Allen had for a while, haven't further poisoned your already addled brain~."

Neah's expression grew thunderous, but before he could reply, Road, little Road who hadn't changed a single bit since he'd last seen her with the exception of giving him the cold shoulder, beat him to the punch. "Millenie! That can't be true! Up until his last moments," her voice caught, and she forced herself to continue in a choked tone, "Up until his last moments, he stayed true to us!"

"That may be, Road~," the Earl patted her head patronizingly, "But I am certain those wretched Exorcists softened him up, not to mention his run-in with _Mana_, is what delayed his return to us~." Turning back to Neah, gently pushing Road to the side, he said, "Now, we have other matters to attend to~." Neah didn't bother responding, knowing that's exactly what the lunatic wanted, so that he could gloat over his next scene of the elaborate play he'd created. He didn't have to wait long. "For your first trial, we shall be paying the Headquarters of the Black Order a visit, and I will watch you, wearing the face of Allen, take part in eliminating the Exorcists that once called Allen their comrade~."

* * *

It was pure and utter madness.

Neah relished in the welcomed atmosphere, casually slaughtering anyone dim-witted enough to dart anywhere near him. It was amusing really, how hopeful, yet terrified they felt, when they looked at him. Then, the hate and disgust. The _betrayal_. A sight Neah was familiar with; after all, it was the same exact gaze each of the Noah had held all of those years ago, as Neah eradicated them one by one. It was even more amusing, when his lips curled into that naturally innocent smile Allen had a habit of fooling people with, all the while possessing sinister, golden eyes, corpse-like skin, and stigmata, distorting the skin across his forehead.

"T-Traitor," the next victim managed to mumble, before succumbing to the agonizing death Neah had made him endure. He wasn't called the Noah of Destruction for nothing. Able to bend matter at his fingertips, Neah could twist and warp a human in any way he pleased. But honestly, they were all so pathetic, he didn't even bother elongating their torture, though it seemed the rest of the Noah thought otherwise, their maniac laughter echoing and bouncing off of the walls throughout the tower, filling its every nook and crevice. But it mattered not to Neah. Human genocide was not his goal, though natural Noah instincts obviously did not limit his ability to murder, but Mana was the only one he truly cared about, and he would willingly go through hell under orders of the Earl for him. As for Allen… He had been a friend once, but that had ended once he'd offered himself up as a tool, in some foolish martyr act. Now, he was simply the boy he would soon need to fully annihilate, in order to be able to effectively use this body.

Neah observed his surroundings with disinterest, realizing he'd made his way down a vacant corridor, and turned, knowing that being out of sight would only give the Earl further excuse to "test" him. A voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"A-Allen?"

Neah tipped his head towards the side rather than fully turning, taking notice out of the corner of his eye the disheveled, long-haired girl that stood far behind him, on wobbly legs. Rapidly flitting through Allen's memories, he eventually matched a name to her face. Lenalee. His lips twisted into a mocking grin as he fully turned, causing her to gasp. "Ah, yes, Lenalee, was it?"

"Allen!" Lenalee stumbled back with a cry, tears spilling down her bruised, dirtied cheeks. And all she managed to choke out was a pathetic, "Why?"

Neah sneered. "_Why_?" Meeting her quivering form in a couple of long, swift strides, he grabbed a hold of her arm before she could further stumble back. But rather than struggling, she remained limp in his grip. "Would you like to know a little secret, _Lenalee_?" When she could only continue to stare with wide, horrified eyes, he whispered, "I'm not _really_ Allen." Lenalee gasped, abruptly slumping down, whether from shock or relief, he couldn't tell, but this was really the most entertaining thing that had occurred so far, so Neah continued, "Why don't you allow me to tell you a little story, Lenalee. You see, many years ago, when Allen was even more naïve that he already is now, I befriended him. Gained his loyalty. But of course, in a life of war, it wasn't shocking to find that soon after, I was killed. And you know what the imbecile did in response?" She feebly shook her head when Neah paused. "He foolishly promised to take my memories, my Will. Of course, he no longer remembers any of this, but it happened nonetheless. And now, Allen is slowly withering away in the dark corners of _my_ mind."

But instead of becoming disheartened with the hopeless situation like Neah had expected, Lenalee suddenly stiffened and quite shockingly cradled his face in between her two, bloodied and trembling hands. "Allen, if you're in there, _please_ come back. I have faith in you Allen! _Please_—"

Her pleading was unexpectedly cut off by the sharp, ringing sting of a slap.

"I think that'll be enough from you, _Lenalee_," Neah sneered, golden eyes narrowed down in irritation. "Allen's gone for good, but if you're _that_ willing to join him, let me give you hand." Knowing she'd clearly exhausted her Innocence by the poor state her legs were in, Neah casually wrapped his hands around her delicate neck, deciding to partake in a killing the old fashion way, and leisurely began to squeeze, eventually constricting her from oxygen altogether. Lenalee clawed and kicked silently, tears of desperation leaking , eyes popping as she wriggled frantically away from his firm grasp.

* * *

**~Allen~**

Allen also acted in the same manner, furiously yanking at the chains that firmly held him down with all his strength, but it wasn't enough.

""Mad puppet" my ass," Allen growled, reiterating Neah's earlier words, from right before he'd taken over his body. "Damn it!" he cried, and momentarily paused, checking to see what it was that Neah was doing this time. Despite knowing the current attack happening at Headquarters, Allen couldn't last long without checking to see who it was that Neah was slaughtering, the guilt practically driving him mad, witnessing all the blood staining his hands. It was one thing to glimpse the slaughters at the hand of the other Noah and Akuma, but a whole different thing to see_himself_ doing it. It made him sick to the core.

"_L-Lenalee_?!" Allen whispered, horrified when the image of her being strangled by his own hands was revealed. "No… _No_, damn it!" Allen shouted. "_Crown Clown, Activate!_"

He wasn't sure how it was even possible to do so in his mindscape—and he sure as hell wished he'd tried doing so earlier—but the chains restraining him shattered, and suddenly he was no longer sitting on the throne, but rather facing it, with Neah now constrained. Even so, he could tell how weak and brittle the chains were against the Noah.

Neah's eyes were wide with shock, but quickly calmed, smiling at him; a little angrily, a little mockingly, because he _knew_ it wouldn't be long before Allen was caged once again. And the redheaded boy knew it was true; could feel the control slowly slipping through his fingers, but he held on, knowing this would be his only chance. And so, he stalked towards the Noah, intent clear as he held up his clawed fingers.

Neah tsked. "Now, Allen, no need to escalate things so quickly. I thought you'd be happy; you fulfilled your promise after all." He sneered.

"Whoever it was that I made that promise to, it clearly wasn't _you_," Allen spat, disgusted with him, with himself, because he could never imagine permitting _anyone_ to do what Neah had just done, and it saddened him greatly to think that he had been taken in by such a family; a family that had shown him the love they clearly couldn't for any other human.

Neah's smile faltered, suddenly becoming saddened. "You're correct. Death changes your views, makes you realize that trying to save everyone only ends in suffering… Take care of Mana for me."

Allen stared down at him, before placing the tip of his claw on Neah's stigmata and whispering, "And in this death, I'm sure you'll realize that killing everyone didn't end in your happiness."

And with a swift slash, Allen tore the memory Neah apart.

* * *

"Lenalee!" Allen exclaimed, at once releasing his hold on her once he'd regained his body, keeping her upright as she crumpled and then slowly lowering them both to the ground.

"A-Allen?" Lenalee rasped, gazing intently as his skin paled, stigmata disappearing, and molten eyes softening to silver.

"Yeah…" Allen smiled sadly, wiping her tears with his thumb. "I'm… I'm so sorry Lenalee," he choked.

But she simply held him as he trembled and wept, mourning all the lives that had been lost at his hands.

* * *

**A/N: **_So…_ Epilogue anyone?


	7. Epilogue

**A/N: **And here we are at the end, my dear readers!(: It sure was fun writing this, and I hope you've enjoyed it thus far! Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed; I appreciate it immensely!(:

Thank you to the reviewers from my last chapter: **Takei Daloui**, **The Ruisu**, **Cutiepie120048**, **1Anime2Freak**, **RaNDoem**,** taiShafie**, and **author12306**! :D You, and all my reviewers, are the best and make me happy to be a writer! And I hope you're satisfied with the epilogue (though you probably won't be)!(x

Enjoy!

* * *

**Disclaimer****: **My final disclaimer! … Well, for _this_ story. Anyway, I claim no ownership to **D. Gray-Man**. Boo-hoo for me!:p

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

**Time Frame — ****Morning of March 10th**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning, that Lenalee regained enough strength in order to stand on her own. Glancing up at Allen with pleading eyes, she urged him, "Come on, Allen, we must check on everyone else!"

But Allen simply shook his head, holding her back with his gaze alone, and asked with a bitter smile, "How do you think they'll react, Lenalee? When they look upon the face of a traitor; a killer…"

"But that wasn't _you_!" the Asian girl protested furiously, violet eyes narrowing to slits.

"_I_ may not have been the one doing killing the last night," Allen began gently, "But who do you think it was that pretended to be your comrade for so long? Who was it that unleashed a horde of Akuma upon you? Who do you think it is that's been part of the Noah Clan for the past _seven_ years?" Lenalee stood frozen before him, lips moving but no sound issuing, and so Allen whispered, "It was _me_, Lenalee. And I don't think I'd _ever_ be welcomed here again. And even if I _were_, what then? Will I then be expected to kill the people that once loved me and raised me as their own?"

"B-but they're evil!" Lenalee spluttered. "They want to eradicate humanity, and, and—"

"You don't think I _know_ that?" Allen burst into a short, cynical laugh. "I _do_. I've known it all along, but that doesn't change the fact that Road and I played as little kids; went to school together. Doesn't change all those times the twins and I got into trouble for playing mean pranks on each other and getting grounded, or all the times Tyki sat down and helped me with my homework, or when he took care of me anytime I was sick. It doesn't change the moments Skinn took me out to buy candy, or when Sheryl adopted me as his own and treated me like a son, or even when Lulubell and Mimi were there to pull me out any potential danger."

"I…" Lenalee gaped, and swallowed heavily. "That doesn't…"

"It wouldn't ever seem believable, would it?" Allen smiled sadly. "But it's the truth. They acted like my family and took care of me to the best of their abilities; grew attached to me despite knowing that one day the Noah within would kill away any semblance of the person I am. Which is why I can't join you; not now, not ever. I would be useless if I were to ever confront them in battle, because I couldn't bear to hurt them."

"D-Does that mean you're returning to them? Joining them?" Lenalee managed to choke out, dark eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

Allen shook his head, his own silver eyes growing shiny. "No, I cannot. I can't _be_ like them, Lenalee, and after all of this, I don't think I could continue to sit back while they do what they do. I'll always cherish the moments I had with them, but carrying on the way we had is no longer an option."

"Where will you go?" she whispered.

"Away. I am no longer going to be part of this war. It's been a long seven years, but it's time to return to my true home." They stayed silent for a moment, and then Allen said, "But after what just happened… I spoke with Crown Clown last night."

Lenalee abruptly glanced up with an incredulous expression. "Your Innocence? You spoke with it?"

"Well, not through words, but we managed to communicate through feelings, more or less. I'm unsure as to how to describe it, but this is the gist of it," Allen said, and rather and offering further explanation, he took a hold of his left shoulder, and with a piercing crack that made Lenalee cringe, it suddenly burst into pile of ash, dusting down the floor.

"W-what are you doing?!" Lenalee practically shrieked, staring at where his limb once was with horrified astonishment.

But Allen simply bent down, taking a hold of the pure Innocence crystal, and pressed it into her hands. "Like I said, I am no longer a part of this war, but with the state the Noah has left you in, you'll have no hope. Take it; it might be your only chance."

"B-but it's no use without its Accommodator!" Lenalee protested weakly, carefully cradling Crown Clown between her hands.

Leaning closer, Allen said in a hushed whisper, "This Innocence is different. I know the Earl has been searching for it; the Heart, I believe they call it." A sharp intake of breath was the only thing Lenalee could manage. "And you're right, it would be more powerful with its Accommodator, but I can no longer fill in that role. But because it's the Heart, you may harness its power, and with it, I'm sure you'll have an advantage against them."

Lenalee clasped her hands over the shard, its exposure making her feel on edge. "But why are you _doing_ this?"

Allen smiled softly at her. "Just because I love them, doesn't mean I want them to succeed." Allen began to back away from the lone corridor. "I wish you the best of luck, Lenalee Lee."

And before she could form any sort of protest, he was gone.

* * *

"Mana," Allen sighed in relief from where he stood at the doorway, carefully keeping his left side tilted away, immensely grateful that the man had stayed in place, occupying the same inn.

Glancing up from where he was standing beside the bed, sifting through his small suitcase, Mana rewarded him with a bewildered expression, as if uncertain of what his presence meant. Guessing at how confused he must've been for the past couple days, Allen elaborated, "It's Allen, not Neah."

"Ah," Mana whispered, studying him intently.

Fidgeting, and hoping with all his heart that the one person he had left would not reject him, Allen asked in a small voice, "I know it's been a long time, but I was wondering if I could return to traveling with you."

The smile that lit up Mana's face warmed Allen to the core, and more so, did his words, "Of course, Allen. You're always welcomed."

And despite his own reluctance, Allen knew he'd have to be fully honest with him before he could officially return. "But you must know… There's no longer any hope of Neah returning through me, Mana. He's officially gone. I… I killed his memory."

Mana's smile suddenly became forced and brittle, before he heavily sat down on the bed with a breathless gasp.

"M-Mana?"

"Allen, I…" Mana murmured incoherently, burying his face into his hands. After what felt like an eternity, Mana glanced up with such old and tired eyes, that it made Allen's heart ache for him.

"Yes, Mana?" Allen hesitantly prompted.

"There's a traveling circus a few miles south of here. We need to get going if we have any chance of catching up."

And just like that, it was like the weight of a heavy stone being lifted off of his shoulders, and smiling much more brightly, Allen nodded contentedly. "Yes, Mana."

* * *

**A/N: **And ta-da, there's our bittersweet ending! This is the problem I always saw with Noah!Allen fics; there was just never a good ending. Either Allen turned into a psycho lunatic, becoming OOC to the point of absurdity, or there was just no ending at all! So, in this, Allen decides that there's no way he can choose a side; it's why I had him join the Noah _before_ losing Mana and gaining that scar, so that it would allow him to leave without feeling like he was betraying his most important person.

(And if you're wondering about the Earl, he kind of freaked out and left when his connection to Neah was severed.)

Well, I've enjoyed this short journey, and I hope you have too!(: Penny for your thoughts?^-^


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